


When The Evening Falls

by fallsintograce



Series: Special YOI Weeks/Events [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Aquarium workers, M/M, Magic, Mer-sting ray Yuuri, Mer-sting rays, Mermen, Sexy times coming later, Sting rays are good sea pancakes and flappers, Victuuri Week 2018, Viktuuri Week 2018, Water water everywhere, more tags to be added later, slight angst but nothing too bad, this is an excuse to dress Yurio up as sea creatures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-12 20:11:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 35,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13554708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallsintograce/pseuds/fallsintograce
Summary: Nights in the aquarium were always very quiet until the day that Yuuri started working overnight. He made friends with all the sea creatures, especially the rays. So when Victor stays late one night, he finds out the real truth about Yuuri and soon learns what his mission is. It also doesn't help that he starts to fall in love. (Merman AU/Fantasy AU)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know what you are thinking. Another mer story? Where are you getting these ideas? Aren't you tired of them yet? More mer-Yuuris?! Well, this is all @artofmarylarson's fault. She feeds my head with a million mer ideas and that gets the gears going. In case you are wondering, no, I didn't forget my other WIPs. I am going back to them soon. I needed to get these Victuuri week fics out first (One for free day, one for fantasy day)
> 
> I apologize if things seem rushed at the moment. I was trying to get this done on time for free day!

After hours in the aquarium had never been something that people were concerned with. Everything was dark and quiet during those times. Most of the fish and sea creatures were asleep. If they were awake, they didn’t cause much trouble. It was a big building but a quiet one at night.

At least, that was what it was supposed to be. 

The aquarium was big with three floors and had fish and mammals from all over the world. They weren’t kept in cramp and tight places like some aquariums. Their fish had a lot of room to swim around in and were well taken care of. It was a great place for both children and adults alike. There was something for everyone to do and see. Even the bathrooms were something to visit because people could see fish and sharks swimming by. That alone had people excited to see everything else in the aquarium. 

Victor, Yuri, and Mila all worked here during the week and it was a fun job. Any reason to be around these sea creatures was a good reason. The only time they ever felt stressed was when children didn’t listen to them and tried to bother the fish. Those same children would try poking something and the parents wouldn’t do a damn thing to stop them. Minus those little annoyances, working at the aquarium was fun. They got along with everyone who worked over there. Almost everyone.

“There he is again.” Yuri muttered when they saw their new coworker hanging around with the stingrays. “That’s the guy with my name. Once again, he’s with the rays.”

“It’s spelled differently though.” Mila pointed out. “And he’s very quiet. He’s nothing like you.”

That much was true. Yuuri Katsuki didn’t have Yuri’s fiery temper or impatience for things. He was a very hard worker who seemed to love what he was doing. Right now, he was smiling at people walking by and answering the questions they might have had about the rays. 

Yuuri had arrived here only a few days ago yet he seemed to have figured out where everything was. He was friendly with all of the sea creatures, especially the rays. He seemed to have a way of getting them to approach him. He didn’t even need to say a thing. They all swam up to him whenever he got close.

“Those stingrays love him. They seem to know when he’s around.” Mila noticed, watching as Yuuri sat by them. “Do you think he’s a stingray whisperer?”

“That is the dumbest thing I ever heard.” Yuri muttered. “They probably just like him but I don’t know why. What’s so special about him?”

“Well, he’s quiet and he likes all the sea creatures in here. He doesn’t get in anyone’s way. He’s friendly with people when he talks to them. He knows a lot about ocean and he can answer all the questions people have. I’m not sure what’s so bad about him. He never did anything to you.”

“That’s true but there’s something weird about him.” Yuri looked over at Yuuri who was trying to talk to the stingrays. “Look at him! He thinks they’re talking back to him!”

“Ah, leave him alone!” Victor nudged Yuri’s shoulder. “He’s having fun with them. They like him. He likes them. Nothing’s wrong with that.”

All the same, he could see what was so strange about this. Yuuri had a way with these creatures that no one else had. Not very many people knew much about him except that he had the experience that was required for his job. He proved that he belonged here even though he kept to himself. The only people he ever talked to were visitors who had questions about the creatures. It turned out that Yuuri was very knowledgeable too. 

“We’ve asked him to join us before and he never wants to. I guess he’s still very shy. Or maybe he’s just scared of Yuri.” Mila nudged Yuri who pulled away out of annoyance. “What did you expect? When he first came in here, you yelled at him in the bathroom.”

“I wanted to know why the hell he was snooping around! I caught him in places he shouldn’t be!” Yuri snapped. “He’s just too weird.” 

No one else saw Yuuri as weird but he didn’t really want to interact with anything but the animals. That was where he seemed to show some excitement. He also was the only one who ever wanted to work overtime and stay long hours just to be with them. For some reason, he was excited to do more work even when the rest of the crew was tired. While everyone else looked ready to fall down, Yuuri was excited to stay behind. He promised he would take care of everything at night. It didn’t seem like he was doing it for money either so everyone was suspicious about his motives. There was no reason for him to stay late but he did it anyway. The strange thing was that he never appeared tired the next morning. He could be at work till ten and he’d still have enough energy for the next work day. 

It was nothing that concerned the others until one night when Victor was going to work late. There were a few things he needed to wrap up and he wouldn’t be done until 8 that evening. Everyone else was going home except for Yuuri as expected. The two of them would be in separate areas so they wouldn’t bother each other. However, everyone else saw this as an opportunity for Victor to spy on Yuuri.

“Do it.” Yuri told him. “Find out what he’s hiding.”

“What if it’s nothing? What if he just likes working late?”

“No one likes working late! You’re only doing it because you have work. What the hell does he have? He’s doing something every night and we need to know what it is.”

Victor saw no reason to suspect Yuuri of any wrongdoing but it was strange that he kept staying late every single night. For a new person, he was not supposed to have a lot of work to do. If he did need to stay late, it should only have lasted an hour. Why was he staying until ten at night? What was going on over here? None of the cleaning people nor security guards had an answer. They never saw Yuuri whenever they made their rounds. They always assumed that he was in a back room or that he had left. The only ones they ever saw were the fish and creatures swimming around in their tanks. It was nothing out of the ordinary.

“I think Yura has a point. Maybe we should see what he’s up to.” Mila thought out loud. “You’re the only one staying here tonight. You don’t have to follow him around. Just run into him once and see how he’s doing. Act like you’re checking up on him.”

Victor didn’t need to act because that was what he was planning to do. He wanted to make sure that Yuuri was safe and to see if he needed any help. The first couple of times that he tried talking to him, he didn’t get much. He knew Yuuri was from Japan but had lived in the United States for a few years. He understood and spoke English well. He was currently living with a student from Thailand named Phichit Chulanont. The most important thing of all was that he loved the ocean and everything in it. He was the closest to the rays because he loved the way they moved. They were flapping around like they were birds. 

Other than that, Victor knew nothing else. He hadn’t even met this roommate of Yuuri’s so he couldn’t ask anyone about him. So his colleagues did have a good point. If there was a time to find out about their new coworker, now was it. He wouldn’t stalk him. He would just go see him once and make sure he was fine. Then, if Yuuri was okay with it, he would talk to him and find out some more information. Yuuri was probably scared of big groups of people but maybe he would open up if they spoke one on one. He would be more comfortable if it was just them. 

By six, everyone had gone home except for the two of them and a few of the custodians. Yuuri was in his corner while Victor stayed in his office, listening for anything strange. It was quiet and that was expected yet something was off. Something was telling him to go over to where the rays were. He didn’t know why but he sensed that something was happening to them. Their tanks were not too far from where he was. In fact, their section right below his office. The silence around him was becoming too much. He needed to find Yuuri. He needed to know where he was.

Yuuri’s office was all the way in the other end yet the lights were off. He couldn’t have gone home now because he never went home early. He would have to clock out first if he did and his timecard was still outside of his office. That was how everyone knew when someone was still working. Their lights would be on and they would have a card outside to show they were on the clock. Yuuri hadn’t left, which was no surprise. The surprise was that he wasn’t in his office. He was around but where? Where did he go and what was he doing? 

He still felt that the answer to this would be where the rays were. He was drawn to that area and he soon began to hear something from it. Someone was trying to talk though he couldn’t understand what they were saying. That same person was walking back and forth between the tanks, their footsteps getting louder each time. Someone was running around and almost falling on the slippery floor. 

It didn’t take long for Victor to see that the someone running around was Yuuri. He had been by the tank where the stingrays were swimming around. So he had been right about this. Not only was there commotion coming from the rays, it was also coming from Yuuri. The sounds he was making now as he was carrying a bucket was the most noise he had made all day. Victor hid around the corner and watched as Yuuri took that bucket to the stingrays.

“I’m here, I’m here…” He was saying as he sat on the edge of the tank. Victor was about to call out and tell him to be careful but stopped. Yuuri was purposely sitting there and those stingrays were all swimming up to him. “Don’t worry. Everyone is gone. No one is going to bother us.”

The stingrays were listening closely as he swung his feet over and let them dangle in the water. “So far, I don’t have a plan but I will figure something out. I haven’t found anything yet. I’m still searching. No one realizes what I am and that’s good. As long as I can keep this a secret, everything will go well.”

Victor was curious now but he couldn’t interrupt this. He watched as Yuuri took one of the buckets and held it over his legs. 

“Okay, guys. I’m coming in. You won’t be so lonely. Eventually, we’ll all get out of here.”

Get out? What does he mean by that? Victor wondered as Yuuri poured the bucket of water over his legs. Why does he want to break the stingrays out? What is he looking for?

He had no time to think about answers for those questions because he was watching Yuuri’s legs disappearing. He almost screamed but then saw that the legs weren’t going away. They were fusing together. The more he stared, the more it looked like those legs were becoming a tail. It was no fish tail either. It was long and pointed like the end of a stingray. Slowly but surely, Yuuri was turning into a stingray.

And everything began to make sense. It explained why all the stingrays were close to him. It explained why he stayed late at nights over here. It explained why he didn’t really interact with people. He was much closer to the sea creatures because he was one. He was here for a reason that no one could know about.

“Yuuri?” Victor finally spoke up loud enough for everyone to hear. Yuuri turned around to see that he was not alone. “What is…”

“Victor.” Yuuri whispered, unable to hide his true form. He wasn’t in the water yet but everything was revealed. Half-man, half-stingray. The other stingrays were still flapping around in the water like they had sensed trouble. "Oh no..."

His biggest secret was out and there was no way he was going to be able to hide from it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little more of the secret is revealed...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I managed to squeeze this bit out before the weekend and right on time for the Olympics! A little bit more is revealed but still not enough! What will happen? You'll find out soon! I was trying to get this out early so forgive any errors I may have. I swear I'll fix them!

For a few minutes, there was no sound except for the rays that were swimming around and flapping in the water. It was clear that they had sensed something because they were more agitated than ever. They had all gathered around Yuuri as if they wanted to protect him. Even though they were in the water, Victor was starting to grow scared of them. He had never seen all these creatures rally together like this. Yuuri, however, was trying to stay calm and keep all the stingrays calm. When they listened to them, they did simmer down and began normally. 

“It’s okay.” He told them. “Victor won’t hurt us. Isn’t that right?”

“I won’t.” Victor promised. “But you...what are…”

“I have a lot to explain.” Yuuri began. “Believe me, I expected this to happen eventually. I didn’t think you’d come down here. No one else ever does.”

Victor nodded, unsure what else he could say at this moment. Half-man, half-sting ray. How did something like this even exist? He had a million questions yet nothing was coming out of his mouth. He didn’t want to scream but he was scared. With the way the rays were flapping about in the water, he was afraid of what they were going to do.

“This is why I’ve been staying late every night. I’ve been staying for them.” Yuuri went on. “I had to see if they were all right.”

“Why?” Victor finally was able to ask. “They’ve been fine.”

“Confined in this tank is not fine. They deserve more space than this.” Yuuri pointed out as they stingrays continued to flap around. “Still, that’s not why I’ve come here. I have my mission.”

“Mission?”

“I cannot talk about it right now. What I can tell you is that I am from the ocean and that I have been sent here to observe you. Well, I need to observe you and all the other humans that work in this place. I’ve heard a few things and I needed to see if they were true.”

Victor slowly began to move closer and the stingrays stopped acting so aggressively. He figured it was because Yuuri was talking calmly and letting them know they weren’t in danger. He told them that Victor was a friend and not someone they needed to attack. “They’re only scared because they didn’t expect you to find out. I’ve been doing this in secret and it was supposed to stay a secret.” 

“I can keep it a secret.” Victor assured him. “I won’t tell anyone about you. They’ve been wondering why you stay so late but now I know. Are you worried about how we’ve been treating the rays?”

“It’s not just the rays. I worried about all the creatures and their treatment here. I will say that you are far more caring than some of the other places I’ve been in. Those were awful.”

“Other places? You mean, this isn’t the first aquarium you’ve seen?”

Yuuri shook his head. “I’ve been doing this for years now. Every year, I go to a different place and a different aquarium around the world. I see how humans have been treating the creatures over here. Needless to say, many of them do not do a good job. For those that don’t, I go into my next phase.”

“Next phase?”

“The real mission.” Yuuri went on. “That’s the part I can’t tell you about. There are a few things you wouldn’t understand. And now, you can’t tell anyone else about this. Let me do what I need to do and stay out of my way.”

“Yuuri, I…” Victor began but he felt completely out of breath. Yuuri was stunning in this form and a big mystery. He would never have suspected that this was what he was planning. “Let me try to make sense of this. Every year, you go to an aquarium around the world just to see how humans are treating the creatures in it?”

“That’s correct.”

“And if you find that they aren’t doing something right, you try to fix it?”

“In a way, yes, that’s what I do. I can’t explain exactly what it is. I just need you to believe me. If you can, just keep your distance from me during the day. Don’t tell anyone about me.”

“I won’t but_”

“No one can know. Maybe I can tell you more another time but…” Yuuri looked up. “Go! Get out of here!”

“But…”

“Leave! I don’t want you to stay here any longer!”

The way Yuuri hissed at him and the stingrays flapping around in the water was enough for him to turn around and run back to his office. He still had a lot of questions to ask but he would have to do it at a later time. He couldn’t understand how Yuuri suddenly turned into a mer-sting ray or why he picked this aquarium. More importantly, he didn’t understand Yuuri’s mission was. Why did he go to aquariums every year and what for? What happened after he was done? Did he return to the sea?

_I need to talk to him tomorrow. What kind of creature is he? He doesn't look like what a merman should._

He thought about Yuuri swimming around with those rays. How was he going to get around the security guards or custodians down there? What if one of them caught him? He wanted to go back down just to see what Yuuri was up to. It looked like he was just going to swim with the rays for tonight. Still, the whole thing about a mission was what stood out. What was this mission that required Yuuri to stay over almost every night? What was he going to do with those rays?

Things were quiet downstairs so Victor figured that either Yuuri was done or no one had found him. He was thinking about checking up on him again when his phone went off. It was Yuri asking to see if he had noticed anything funny. Before he had a chance to answer anything, Mila sent him a message asking the same thing. Then he got a message from his friend, Chris, who wanted to know why he was still working. Go figure that all of them would want to talk to him while he had no desire to reply. The only one he wanted to talk to right now was Yuuri. He had his questions and Yuuri could answer them. The answers he had weren’t going to do. He needed to know more about this new coworker and what his true intentions were. He probably wouldn’t get anything tonight so he would pester him tomorrow.

When Victor left, he didn’t see Yuuri at the tank with the rays anymore. Things had calmed down but he had no idea what to make of anything. Yuuri really didn’t give him much information. This was something he’d have to deal with when he got hold of him the next day. He would get Yuuri alone where no one could listen in and ask him all the hard hitting questions. Then, if Yuuri needed help with this so-called mission, he would help as much as possible. 

When tomorrow came, however, he didn’t get much time with Yuuri like he hoped. Today was the day where multiple children were visiting the aquarium with their classes. A lot of schools had picked today as the day for a field trip.That meant they would have to deal with several children running around, screaming, trying to cause chaos, and just being a challenge to keep in tow. They came in around 9 that morning and within seconds, there were children being unruly everywhere.

“I forgot that today was that field trip.” Yuri grumbled as he watched the children crowd around the touch tanks. This was where they could touch creatures such as star fish and sea urchins but they had to be careful. Right now, most of the children were behaving. A few were talking loudly but that wasn’t enough to bother the creatures. “Can I have permission to throw them with the sharks?”

“Ah, Yuri, they’re just kids.” Victor looked over at where one of the classes had formed. They were watching the stingrays while Yuuri was trying to talk about them. Somehow, he was the only one who managed to get them to stay still and listen to him. “They’re just excited.”

“They’re giving me a headache.” Yuri saw the class that was patiently listening to their new coworker and was in awe. “How is he doing that? He can take care of the sea creatures and these kids? I don’t think he’s human.”

Victor tried hard to ignore that bit. He had yet to get a chance to talk to Yuuri alone and ask him more questions. “Well, he has patience. You can learn a thing from him.”

“Feh, he’s just too weird to me. He gets along with people and animals.”

“That’s not a bad thing.” 

“He’s different though! He’s hiding something! Did you see him do anything weird last night?”

Victor looked over at Yuuri, knowing that he couldn’t reveal this yet. A part of him was still wrapping his mind around the little bits that he knew. All he knew was that Yuuri wasn’t human and that he visited aquariums every year just to keep an eye on things. He just didn’t understand why this was necessary. It was true that some aquariums weren’t as good but they were still running. If his plan was to destroy them, it didn’t work. 

“He just stayed with the rays the whole time.” He finally answered. “He didn’t do anything unusual. Just talked to them and fed them. It’s what he does everyday with them.”

That was a partial truth. Yuuri had been talking to them and taking care of them like it was a normal day in the aquarium. The only difference was that he was doing it at night and he wasn’t fully human. Somehow, pouring some water on his legs were what made him shed his human form and get into the true version. How this worked was still a mystery.

“You probably missed something.” Yuri turned over to where Yuuri was lecturing the children about rays. “No one else has been able to get those kids to listen to them. What is he doing that’s so different?”

“Let’s go find out.” Victor went over to where Yuuri was talking about all the different rays that lived in the ocean. He was thorough but still engaging enough for the children to listen to him. There was only one child being incredibly obnoxious and trying to challenge. This was the same child that Yuri had wanted to throw to the sharks earlier.

Right now, the conversation had gone from rays to mermaids. Yuuri was trying to tell them a story about a merman who wanted to be a human being so he could live with a prince on the land. The merman went to the land every year just to visit his friend but he never told him the secret about himself. However, his main mission wasn’t to fall in love but to observe humans and how they treated the creatures of the sea. He never wanted to fall in love. It was the one thing he ended up doing.

“That’s not a real story!” The annoying child in the back yelled out. “Mermaids aren’t real! No one’s ever seen one!”

Yuuri just smiled at him. If this child was a small fish or clam, he would have swallowed him whole right now. He was truly testing his patience. “Well, the only reason to think that is because no one has solid proof of them. That doesn’t mean they can’t exist.”

“Yeah, I don’t buy it! Mermaids aren’t real just like the toothfairy, Santa Claus, and communism!”

Yuri turned to Victor. “Are you sure you don’t want me to feed him to the sharks?”

Victor held him back. “Just leave him alone. Let Yuuri handle him.”

On the other end, Yuuri was desperately wishing that this child was a clam or some other soft-shelled animal. He was getting very hungry right now but he needed to keep everyone calm. “Well, I’m guessing the only way you’ll ever believe that is if someone brought proof of the existence of mermaids.”

“Duh!”

“Let me at him!” Yuri growled while Victor kept his hand on him. “If I can’t throw him to the sharks, can I at least feed him to the gators?”

On the corner, Yuuri was still saying something to all the children and even the obnoxious child managed to get quiet. Somehow, he had a spell over them. He had launched into more of the story about the merman who kept visiting the human he loved. However, it ended up being a tragic tale because the merman had to sacrifice his fins to be on the land. So he cut them off along with his tail and his blood filled the seas, cutting off his connection to the ocean. Unfortunately, in doing so, he lost his immortality and bled to death on the sand. His human lover mourned for him and buried his body close to the sea. 

Some of the teachers were a bit skeptical hearing this story but the children were all impressed by it. When Yuuri was finished, none of them wanted to leave the area. It wasn’t until Mila mentioned that it was time to feed penguins that they actually got up and went to that area. Things got quiet then and it gave Victor some time to talk to Yuuri.

“You have a way with children.” He began.

“Not really. I just know what to tell them and they listen to me. Even the most difficult children like that story.”

“Is it is a true story?”

Yuuri smiled at that. “It could be. Anything can be real if you believe in it.”

At that point, Yuri and Mila had joined them so Victor had no time to ask about this story. From what it sounded like, it had to be true. It wasn’t the main reason he wanted to be alone with Yuuri. He needed to hear more about his life as a mer-sting ray. He needed to know how he was able to walk on land and why he had targetted this aquarium for his mission. As far as Victor knew, there was nothing shady going on behind the scenes. He had never heard about anything strange or illegal happening. When he joined years ago, he was told everything about the place. He had seen how the sea creature were rehabilitated and then sent back into the wild when they were ready. They were well taken care of. He couldn’t see what the problem was.

Once more of the children were gone, he finally got a chance to talk to Yuuri alone. “I have a lot to ask.”

“I know.” Yuuri nodded. “I didn’t tell you everything.”

“Are you going to tell me now?”

“I can only tell you a little bit.” He looked around to make sure no one was around. “Your hunch is right. I’m not human. I don’t even belong on this land. I was sent here by my family because I’m the only one who can do this job.”

“And what is the job? You go to aquariums all over the world for what? Are you trying to save anything that isn’t cared for?”

“That’s one of my jobs, yes. It is my job to protect them and make sure they are well cared for. Anyone that looks ill or hurt...I save them.” He explained. “I’m the one that they tell about wrongdoings on the land. I go to investigate.”

“So someone told you about us?”

“I’ve been hearing about you for a while. There have been many allegations about this place so I had to come up here. I had to see just how bad things were.” 

“Bad?” Victor was having a hard time believing this. The aquarium was a wonderful place to work. It was always clean and open to the public. No one had ever gotten hurt taking care of these creatures. They were known as one of the best aquariums in the world. “What did you hear about us?”

“I can’t say right now. There are too many people and your friends are coming over here.” He nodded over Victor’s shoulder to where Yuri and Mila were returning. Both of them had to deal with children from various schools. They had to make sure that no child was trying to swim with the fishies or bother the otters and penguins. As usual, it was a tiring job. 

“Why are we dealing with this?” Yuri grumbled, leaning against the wall. It was almost time for the children to go home and he was relieved. The later hours would be a little quieter now. Once all the kids were gone, they could get a chance to relax. “They should pay us triple.” 

“He almost pushed a child in the water.” Mila said, looking at an exhausted Yuri. “I had to stop him before he sent one of them under.”

“How do you handle it?” Yuri wanted to know. “I have a headache from trying to teach them about tiger sharks! None of them were listening!” 

“Well, I tell them stories. They get to decide if those are true or not.” Yuuri explained. “Just make something up and they’ll listen.”

“I don’t know any mermaid stories.”

“It doesn’t have to be a mermaid story. You can tell them a story about sharks. I have plenty of those if you want to borrow one. Here, this is one of my favorite ones!”

As Yuuri was giving everyone all the stories that he had, Victor was thinking about him. He still was nowhere near finding out who or what Yuuri was. He was also curious about what was so bad about their aquarium. The owners had always been upfront about everything. At the same time, he also believed Yuuri. There was something going on down here. There would be no reason for him to investigate anything. 

However, this didn’t answer questions that he had. It only created a few more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come chat up with me on tumblr @ fallsintograce.
> 
> Next chapter, we'll get introduced to more characters and some more answers will come out. 
> 
> And rays are good flapping sea pancakes. Love the rays. Protect the rays.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more shenanigans in the aquarium...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for lateness and shortness of this chapter. I came back home and trying to get back to fic writing was tough. I had to double check to be sure of what sting rays ate for this chapter. Granted, it didn't end up as long as I wanted but I hope the next chapter will make up for it. Please forgive any errors as I've jammed my finger earlier (trying to pull up a chair) so my typing has also slowed down. Thank you all for your kind words and kudos, etc! I'll try to keep this fic interesting for as long as it's going.

A few days into his research, Yuuri was starting to get a little bored of the human world. He was so close to the ocean and still so very far away. He missed his family and friends back down there but he couldn’t go back yet. He had a lot left to do and so far, he hadn’t done much. He hadn’t found the source and he couldn’t return to the sea until he took care of that. 

Pretending to be human was interesting. Most of the people didn’t suspect anything and Victor was the only one who had a clue about his mission. Even still, he didn’t talk a whole lot about it with him. There were certain things that Victor could not know about. He had to be very careful and not get too close to anyone. Already, the other Yuri was giving him looks like he suspected something. He knew that Yuuri had a secret mission but he couldn’t figure out why. Victor was now sworn to secrecy. He could not tell anyone what was happening.

“This is between you and I.” Yuuri reminded him. “Swear to me that you will not reveal this to anybody in here.”

“They’d never believe me if I told them.” Victor pointed out. “A half-human, half-sting ray? I never knew such a thing existed until now.”

“You may not have but others do. They know all about me and my kind. These are the people I’m trying to avoid. So for my sake and the sake of all these creatures, please do not let this slip with your friends.”

Victor swore that he would keep quiet and Yuuri trusted him. He knew there would come a time when he would have to explain more. For now, he needed Victor to stay quiet and he needed to pretend to be human for as long as possible. That was hard sometimes because his favorite food was in this aquarium. The human food wasn’t doing it for him and he knew he couldn’t touch the inhabitants. Still, he was starving and he snuck off one day to get some real food. By real food, he wanted a taste of home. No one would notice if one inhabitant of the aquarium went missing. 

There were several shrimp in those tanks and they were all ripe for the picking. Eating like a human was not helping out. Sure, they had fish and all other things that he could eat but he could not handle the imitation shrimp they had. He needed the real thing. He wanted to eat some shrimp and there were plenty of them in the tank. He was hungry and the food was here. 

Yuuri managed to reach inside and grab one out of the tank. It was fidgeting in his hands but it had nowhere to go. He could crush it easily since he was so much bigger. The problem was trying to eat it. His teeth weren’t as strong when he was in his human form. He couldn’t bit down on the shrimp as it squirmed in his hands so he tried to eat it in the only way he could. He’d open his mouth and drop it in, legs and all. Somehow, he’d figure out a way to break it apart with his human teeth. 

“I’m sorry.” He apologized to the shrimp. “This will be quick and painless for you.”

“Yuuri!”

Yuuri stopped and turned to find Victor standing in the middle of the room, holding a bucket of fish. He had been going to feed the seals when something inside told him to come in here. It was a good thing he had gone with his intuition because Yuuri was about to chow down on one of their inhabitants. Sure, there were a lot of other shrimp in the tank but that didn't mean any of them were free for eating.

“You can’t eat anything in the tanks! Put it back!” He insisted. Yuuri reluctantly dropped the shrimp back in its tank. It was going to live to see another day.

“Sorry.” Yuuri murmured. “I haven’t had real food in a long time and I was tempted.”

“We have fish over here that’s available to eat.”

“That’s not the real thing. It’s fake and stuffed into tiny cans. And the taste is not very good. You can tell it’s not a real shrimp.” Yuuri shook his head. “It’s times like this that I miss home. I miss my family and friends and just being out in the sea.” Then he saw all the fish and shrimp in the bucket and his stomach rumbled. “Victor, I know you are taking that to the seals but may I…”

Victor nodded, holding out the bucket. “Take as much as you need. I can always get more.” 

Yuuri grabbed a handful of shrimp and started to eat it. “Thank you! I haven’t had real food in a long time. Well, except for the times when I kept stealing from the buckets of fish.”

“Oh, so that’s where all the fish was going. I had a feeling we didn’t have a lot and I thought someone was over feeding the seals but it’s you!” Victor smirked as he watched Yuuri eating. It was funny. He ate shrimp like most people, sucking out the meat from the tails. Yet he was not human. There was nothing about him that was human despite looking like one. “So, um, how long are you going to be here?”

“As long as I need to.” Yuuri wiped his mouth. “There are things I have yet to do.”

“Do you need my help on them?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think a human could help me with this. You wouldn’t be able to understand.”

“Why wouldn’t I understand? I know your biggest secret and I haven’t told anyone. I won’t unless you want me to.”

“No, not now! In fact, the less people know, the better. I shouldn’t have told you this much but there’s nothing we can do about that now.” Yuuri sighed. “Maybe later, when everyone is gone, I can tell you more. That’s provided you’re willing to stay late?”

“I can do that. I have to make up time anyway.” He looked over his shoulder and realized that he was running late. Those seals needed to be fed and there were a bunch of school children waiting to see this. “I need to go! I almost forgot about_”

Yuri showed up at that moment. “Oi, Victor! I’ve got a bunch of kids who are getting impatient and they’re climbing over chairs and yelling at each other! Hurry up and feed these seals so they can shut up!”

“Right, I’m coming!” Victor gave Yuuri an apologetic look. “We’ll talk later, okay?”

For the next few hours, the aquarium was busy as more children had arrived with their families, friends, and classmates just to see the feeding of animals. Yuuri kept an eye on how these humans interacted with each other. He couldn’t blame the children for the way they were. They were innocent and didn’t always understand things. If told not to touch or bother animals, most of them did listen. A few of them were curious about how some of these creatures lived. There was the occasional brat who didn’t listen to anything and just wanted to cause trouble but they were taken care of. All in all, the humans of this aquarium were friendly with anyone that came to visit.

“Ugh, I thought they’d never leave!” Yuri complained once the latest seal-feeding show was over. “It took a lot for me not to punch them! They tried to jump in the water with the seals this time!”

“They seem easily excited. Plus we were a little slow starting the show this time.” Mila turned to Victor who could only smile and shrug. “Were we running low on fish again?”

“No, I just...I was sidetracked…”

“Please! You were making eyes at that piggy over there!” Yuri nodded at the other person in the room with the same name. Yuuri was busy making mental notes of everything that he ignored the insult. Yuri had been calling him a pig for some time now because apparently he wasn’t thin like the others. He didn’t understand the issue because he had seen pictures of pigs and they were adorable. He also didn’t understand why any human would want to eat the pigs. What did they do to deserve this treatment? Despite his questions, he remained quiet. He still had to pretened to be like these people. 

“I helped Yuuri out with something. That’s all.” Victor shrugged. “Now I have to go and feed the penguins! Excuse me…”

He ran off with Yuri and Mila watching him. They both knew something was up but could not pinpoint what. Victor was usually not the kind to hide secrets from them and he didn’t always appear this nervous about things. He loved working in the aquarium and entertaining all the visitors who came in here. He even didn’t mind trying to answer questions that people had or handle rowdy children. He was one of the few employees who didn’t mind getting into the waters to play around with the sharks, seals, rays, and multiple fish that swam around. If there was anyone who loved his work, it was Victor.

Mila looked over at Yuuri who was staring at the seals swimming around. He touched the glass as if he was trying to make contact with them. Things had been strange ever since Yuuri had joined their crew. Sure, he was quiet but he seemed to know a lot more about the creatures they kept in here. He always had an idea of when something was wrong or when one of their residents was ill. Yuuri was a big mystery and no one knew much about him. They could only trust their supervisors who had hired him.

“There’s something weird about that guy.” Yuri murmured. “Ever since he came here, I’ve felt like he isn’t normal.”

“That’s not nice to say, Yura!” Mila scolded him. “He’s just shy. A lot of our coworkers aren’t very chatty. That doesn’t mean they’re not normal.”

“They’re different. He, on the other hand, is hiding something. I see the way he looks at everything especially the rays. He knows too much about them.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s good that he knows so much. You could learn a few things from him.”

“Ah, leave me alone, you hag! I know enough!”

Over in his corner, Yuuri was watching their banter and trying not to laugh. Mila and Yuri were fun to be around but he couldn’t reveal the truth to them. They weren’t like Victor. They would never be able to handle this. Right now, he was wondering if Victor would be able to understand. He was different from other humans and Yuuri wanted to get to know him better. Ever since he first saw him, he wanted to be his friend. Victor wasn’t like a lot of the other works who could be cold and standoffish when they weren’t on the clock. Nothing ever seemed to bother him, not even the endless amount of visitors who couldn’t follow rules. If he could handle them, he could handle more of the truth.

“Yuuri! We’ve got another group of children to take on tour!” Mila called at him. “Want to help us?” 

“I’m coming!” Yuuri had to pretend to act like a human again and inform these younger humans about rays. Hopefully, this group would be easier to deal with than the last one who tried to poke the rays one too many times. They were very lucky that no one got hurt. Rays loved the attention but they didn’t love being hurt this way. 

For the next few hours, Victor and Yuuri didn’t get a chance to see each other. They were both too busy running around and helping people out to talk about anything. It wasn’t until night fell and the rest of their coworkers had gone that they found themselves alone. Only the janitors would be around to clean everything up. The last place they head would be where the stingrays were swimming around and that was perfect place to talk. Those rays would be at peace since no one would bother them. Tonight, Yuuri wouldn’t step into the water with them because he promised he would tell Victor as much as he could. 

Victor was waiting for him by the tanks and bombarded him with many questions. In the tank, the rays were swimming close to the glass as if they wanted to listen in on everything. “Do you need anything? Can I help you with this? What is your family like? When are you going home?”

Yuuri held up his hand and Victor stopped. “I appreciate the help but I don’t really need it, Victor. It’s nothing you can help me with anyway. You’re a person and this is something that humans really shouldn’t get involved in. In fact, I shouldn’t have told you anything about myself. I might have made a mistake.”

“I haven’t told anyone if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“No, I know you haven’t. It’s just…” Yuuri paused. Was it a good idea to go into this now? Victor was trustworthy but could he handle everything? Would he be okay with this? “Before I say anything else, you must promise you won’t let anyone here know about this. I mean it. They won't be able to handle it and more importantly...if anyone were to know what I told you..." Yuuri kept dragging this out. He had no idea how to say this gently. "There's so much I have to tell you and so much I can't say. I do want you to know this. You're a good person, one of the few out there. You care a lot about what you're doing and you care about the other people in this place. That's why I have to be careful or else they'll be after you."

"Who will be after me?"

Yuuri lowered his gaze but never really answered his question. Instead, he just said one sentence that left Victor more confused and a little afraid. "Because if they ever find out about you, you're the one who will end up paying...with your life."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come yell at me on tumblr @ fallsintograce or in comments! The fic is taking a different turn but it will all make sense soon!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aquarium gets a new friend...or is it a foe?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Mer-may. I figured I need to update some mer fics and this one was next on the list. I do admit this chapter is short but I promise that the next one will explain a lot more stuff. I needed to drag it out just a little (and I needed to add a baby manatee because...well, it's a baby manatee). And we will see the return of mer-ray Yuuri in the next part too. I apologize for any tiny mistakes I may have made and will fix them in the morning.

Victor had no time to think about what Yuuri had told him earlier because the aquarium was a mess the next morning. Someone had let their children roam around free with food in their hands even though food and drink were not allowed within the aquarium. Outside of the cafe and other designated areas, no one was supposed to be eating inside. Still, this happened far too much and all the employees found sticky hand prints and smudges all over the walls today. Now it was their task to clean everything before the aquarium opened to visitors. They had been asked to scrub every area until it was squeaky clean and sparkling all over. This led to a lot of groaning from the employees but they knew they had to get the job done. The janitors alone couldn't handle everything and they were promised that they would be paid a little more for their efforts.

“This extra money better be worth it. Fucking kids.” Yuri grumbled as he worked hard at removing the stains on glass. “This is worse than that time someone smeared shit on the bathroom walls!” 

“This one is a little better. At least it’s just food and we can wash it easily.” Mila pointed out. She also remembered the horror of someone rubbing their excrement all over the bathrooms. The cameras weren’t in the bathrooms so they had no idea who had done this. As a result, the bathrooms up front were closed off and all patrons had use the ones in the back, which led them to unhappy people. 

“Gross!” Yuuri complained where he saw some brown chocolate smudges on the door handles. “Why can’t people control their kids?”

“Who says that kids are the ones doing this? I’ve seen adults come in here with food and drink. I’ve told them many times that they can’t but no one listens.” Mila sighed, looking over at the tank where the manatees were. It was almost time to feed them and they normally ate over 500 heads of lettuce a day. The glass on their tanks were also covered with sticky smudges. “I’ll go over there and clean that spot. This place will open soon.”

Victor looked over at Yuuri who was the only one not complaining about cleaning anything. He did his job without saying a word and worked faster than the rest of them. Once again, he seemed to be more focused on the sting rays. They were all swimming up to him as if to ask what was going on. Out of all the tanks there, the stingrays home was the most covered by sticky substances. It didn’t seem like anyone had hurt the rays but they were agitated today. Yuuri was trying his best to calm them down.

“What’s wrong with them?” Yuri wanted to know. “Those rays never acted like this before. Ever since he came around, they always seem to pay attention to him. They won’t eat unless he’s feeding them. They won’t listen to anyone unless it’s him. What the hell has he done to them?”

“Nothing! They just...they like him.” Victor knew he couldn’t tell anyone else about Yuuri’s true form. He knew that those stingrays only listened to him because he was like them. He knew what they went through and he had his own plans. The problem was that no one else knew about this great danger. “I don’t think he’s hurting them.”

“No shit he’s not hurting them. I just don’t trust him. He’s planning something and I don’t know what.” Yuri began scrubbing away at a very difficult chocolate spot on the wall. “Stupid kids! Haven’t any of them heard of napkins? Why do they have to wipe their crap on the walls?”

Victor didn’t have an answer for that question because his eyes were on Yuuri. He had already finished cleaning their tanks and was trying to talk to them. Those stingrays swam up to him as if to say hi and tell him what was going on. He couldn’t understand what kind of danger they would be in. Aquariums didn’t exactly have a great reputation but theirs was one of the best. They kept all the creatures in the best facilities that they had and rehabilitated those that needed extra care. Today was an important as they were debuting an orphaned manatee calf. She had been with them for some time but this was the first day that visitors would see her. The poor thing had been found down in Florida after her mother had been hit by a speedboat. The mother did not survive so they had to bring the baby down and take care of her until she was well enough to be released back into the wild. That was the main reason that they needed everything cleaned up. This aquarium had to be ready for their new arrival.

The entire time that they were cleaning, Yuuri never left the stingrays alone. He was playing with the water and petting them as they swam by. He was always very careful not to let too much water fall on his body. If it landed on his hands or arms, it wouldn’t do much but make him wet. If it landed below his waist, that was another story. He had to make sure it didn’t land on him and give away his secret. The stingrays were splashing about so he kept his distance. The whole time that he was with them, Victor kept watching him. He forgot all about cleaning his half of the walls because he was curious about Yuuri. He needed to know more. Dropping everything to the side, he went over to where Yuuri was playing with the rays.

“Hey, idiot! We’re not done!” Yuri snapped. “We haven’t touched the bathrooms yet!”

Victor ignored him and went over to where Yuuri was still playing with the rays. “Did they tell you anything?”

Yuuri looked up as the rays splashed around them, coming up for some affection. “They did tell me that it’s mostly children and adults who left all these smudges here.”

“Adults?”

“Oh, yes. There are too many adults over here that eat without using a napkin. According to them, your closest bathroom ran out of paper towels and the dryer wasn’t working. No one wanted to wipe their crumbs on themselves. That’s why you ended up with stains everywhere.”

“And no one told us about this? How did they know?”

“I’m not sure why no one said a thing. As for how they know, well, they saw everything. They’ve seen the people that are walking around and eating despite the rules saying not to. You should really enforce that. I’ve seen far too many patrons here eating in places that they shouldn’t. In fact, I found a child trying to feed the sting rays two days ago! The parents didn’t say anything so I had to scold them. Then I ended up with an unhappy child and equally unhappy parents.” He sighed. “Why can’t humans take care of their children properly?”

“I don’t know.” Victor shrugged. He had seen several parents letting their children roam about free and not do a thing. It was a miracle that no one had gotten hurt because of this. “Did they tell you anything else?”

“Well, they’ve overheard that you are bringing in a manatee calf today. They also know that you want to name it Makkachin the Seventeenth for some reason. Apparently, you like naming all the inhabitants after your dog.”

“They told you all that?” It was incredible. Makkachin was Victor’s pet poodle and he did indeed name a lot of the sea creatures after her. It wasn’t that he wasn’t creative. He just liked the name and a lot of the fish and sea mammals reminded him of her. Whenever he worked long nights, he didn’t get much chance to play with her. These days, Makkachin was in the hands of a dogsitter while her owner worked. To feel less lonely, Victor started naming many of the sharks, seals, rays, and turtles after her. 

“It makes me miss Vicchan.” Yuuri murmured.

“Who’s that?”

“Oh, that’s my pet back in the ocean. Right now, my sister is taking care of him while I’m away.”

“Your sister? You have a family?”

It was a dumb question and Yuuri’s look said it all. “I do have a family. Don’t you?” 

“Ah, yes. I just was wondering if they were...like you.” Again, it was a dumb reply. Yuuri’s family was going to be more mer-sting rays. He didn’t know what was wrong with him or why he was saying such things. He was never tongue-tied until now. “Never mind I said that. Of course you miss your family and they probably miss you. And I...I should finish cleaning up.” His cheeks were bright pink as he thought about what he was saying. Normally, he was smart about picking the right words but he couldn’t do that around Yuuri. 

“Hey, idiots! I need help with this wall!” Yuri yelled at them. “Some asshole put bacon grease all over this!” 

That gave them both the distraction they needed and they went over to help remove the greasiness that someone had put all over the area. This took a lot of work from them and they didn’t finish until after the aquarium had opened. Early mornings were very quiet so they didn’t have to worry about people watching them clean. It would be what happened afterwards that they were prepared for. This time, they were going to enforce the ‘no food or drink unless in designated areas’ rule and stop anyone that tried to break them. As usual, they had a group of tourists that were coming in around ten in the morning, a group of school kids who belonged to a marine biology club, and several university students stopping by. Most of them were here to see the brand new manatee calf in her new home. 

Of course, no one was more excited to see her than Victor. He was happy to see the playful manatee getting along with all the others. She was so small yet she fit in with the others. Right now, she was being fed and swimming around to stay active. “This is perfect! Makkachin the Seventeenth is doing fine in there!”

Yakov Feltsman, one of the owners of the aquarium, glowered at him. “They named her Mary the Manatee, Vitya. You cannot name her after your dog like you did with everything else.” 

“Aw but she looks like Makkachin! She’s like a dog in water!” Victor looked over at the manatee calf as she swam by him. “How long is she going to be here?”

“Until she is well enough to go back. We found her in some cold waters. Any long down there and she would have passed away. We need her to get back to being healthy before we can release her.”

Everyone seemed to be thrilled to see Mary the Manatee and a group of children even had a song that they were singing about her. For once, the visitors were well behaved around the new manatee. They were told to keep the noise level down and not to bother the manatee. They didn’t even eat or drink unless in the designated areas. It was almost the perfect group of visitors.

“I guess everyone really likes manatees.” Mila noticed. “Either that or there must be something magical about this one.”

There was just one person who didn’t seem all that impressed with the baby manatee. Yuuri would watch her but not with the same excitement as everyone else had. If anything, it seemed like he was wary of her. The look he gave this manatee wasn’t evil but it wasn’t a friendly one either. Even when listening to the school children singing to the manatee, he kept watching her closely. 

“Are you jealous?” Victor teased him. “She took all the attention.”

“No, I’m sensing something.” Yuuri replied. “The manatee isn’t bad but there’s something else that doesn’t feel right.”

“What did the manatee do wrong? She’s just a baby.”

“It’s not her. It’s where she came from.”

“Florida?” Victor had to laugh at that. “All of our manatees came from there!”

“No! I’m not talking about the state! I’m talking about the waters that she came from!” Yuuri sighed. It was hard to explain anything without giving away too much. “Those aren’t safe waters and it’s not because it was too cold. It has nothing to do with the humans around the area either. I don’t hate the manatee. I’m worried about her. I know you can keep her safe but for how long? We can’t release her into the wild.”

“Why not? We have to release them after they are healed.” 

“Not this one. If you released her, you’d put her in grave danger. She needs to stay away from those waters until it’s safe.”

Victor winced. He wanted to trust Yuuri but he was getting tired of all the secrets. Anytime he wanted to find out more, Yuuri would always divert the subject or he would drop it altogether. There was no need to hide because Victor already knew the biggest secret. “Yuuri, why won’t you tell me everything? What’s so bad that you can’t trust me? I’ve kept your secret!”

“And I’m grateful for that but this is bigger than you can understand. I’ll already risked enough with letting you keep this secret. I know you don’t like being kept in the dark but this is for your own good. I’m doing this to keep you safe.”

“Safe?” Victor looked over at the baby manatee who was swimming around. He couldn’t understand why anyone would want to put her in danger. “Why would anyone be after me?”

“Not you. No one is after you. That’s why I’m trying to keep you away from all this.” Yuuri sighed. “Look, Victor, I can’t tell you everything right now. You trust me, right?”

“Yes…” Victor wasn’t sure where this was leading. “Am I not supposed to?”

“No, what I was going to say is that...if you trust me, then I need you to forget about everything you’ve seen. Forget what you know. Pretend that we never met and just go back to your life.”

“And why would I do that?”

Yuuri narrowed his gaze. “Because if you stay with me, you will die.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shifty eyes*
> 
> Is the manatee evil? (Lol) What will happen next? Find out in the next chapter! 
> 
> Come follow me on tumblr @ fallsintograce.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some aquarium shenanigans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not mean to update this so soon again but the next part was not leaving me alone. I haven't forgotten my other fics, I promise. In fact, it was a choice between this one or Ocean Rose as to which I updated next. This won out. Some questions will be answered soon (by like next chapter) but for now, let's have a little fun.

The morning at the aquarium had been fantastic up until the point Yakov came up with a brilliant idea. Since they always had more children coming around at this time, he thought it would be nice to have story time on certain days where the employees could act out certain stories. This wasn’t the bad part. The bad thing was that he wanted some of them to wear costumes. Their first story time was going to be later today. Mila had been asked to dress as a mermaid, which was no problem.

“I haven’t put that costume on in a long time but I can play a mermaid.” She agreed. “I won’t mind dressing as one and reading to them.”

Yuri, on the other hand, was not happy about helping her out. Yakov wanted him to be in costume but not as a merman. No, he had to dress up as a manatee and the costume that he was given smelled like rotten eggs inside. It was stuffy, too big for him, and he could barely move in it. He tried to fight Yakov while wearing that costume but it was too much for most of the employees. Just watching a small manatee flailing its flippers around and trying to scream caused everyone to start laughing. 

“Oh, fuck all of you!” Yuri yelled at them while dressed as the manatee. He tried to flip them off but it was difficult to do so with manatee flippers. “Dammit, I can’t do anything with these damn flippers!”

He was still sour about having to do this when lunch time rolled around. They were sitting outside to enjoy the peace and quiet before things started up again. “The costume stinks so bad inside. I can’t believe I have to wear that for a whole hour!” 

“It could be worse. You might have to dress up as a witch every single day and give tours while wearing that outfit. Right, Georgi?” Mila turned to face Georgi Popovich who, along with Yuri’s best friend Otabek Altin, had joined them for lunch. 

“But I like playing the witch!” Georgi pointed out. “I get to cast spells and curses on people!”

Yuri rolled his eyes but said nothing. Georgi and Otabek both worked next door at the Museum of the Unexplained. This museum had information and items that dealt with all kinds of legends and unexplained things. They covered everything from ghosts to aliens, witches and werewolves, and any legendary stories from all over the world. Otabek often worked the front desk and was mostly in charge of controlling the music, lights, and sound effects inside that museum. Georgi was one of the tour guides who dressed up as an evil witch and tried to scare the patrons. He was somehow very good at this job. 

The museum itself was also said to be haunted by ghosts. While no one had any proof, people had plenty of stories. Otabek himself once heard some wailing that he thought was coming from one of the siren statues and had gone to turn it off. When he arrived, he saw that it was completely off and no one had ever been in the room. He wasn’t the only one who had heard that wailing either. For reasons like this, people were starting to believe in everything. Now the entire group wanted to hear if the ghosts of the museum had done anything interesting as of late. 

The only one who was distracted by everything was Victor. He kept thinking about Yuuri and all of his secrets. The Museum of the Unexplained did have an area all about mermaids and legendary sea creatures but he never saw anything about mer-sting rays. He wasn’t even sure if anything about mer-sting rays existed to begin with. A part of him wanted to ask Yuuri out to go see the museum and ask if any of this stuff was true. He didn’t believe it in the beginning but now he was curious.

“Do you have anything on mer-sting rays?” He found himself asking.

Otabek raised a brow at him. “Mer-sting rays?”

“It’s like a mermaid but instead of a fish tail, it’s half-sting ray. The top half is human but the bottom half as the ray’s flippers and long stinger.” He wasn’t sure if he was doing a good job of explaining anything. All he was thinking about Yuuri and how he looked in that water. He wanted to see mer-sting ray Yuuri again. Maybe he could ask to do some work overnight with him. 

Yuri gave him a look. “What the fuck are you talking about? A mer-sting ray?”

“I have never heard of such a thing.” Otabek shook his head. “However, I wouldn’t say that it’s impossible for it to exist. After all, if mermaids can have fish tails, I don’t see why mer-sting rays can’t be real.”

Victor sighed. He knew he wasn’t crazy and he had plenty of proof that mer-sting rays existed. However, he didn’t want to expose Yuuri like this. He had so many questions that needed answers first. The best way to get something was to ask Yuuri out on a date to the Museum of the Unexplained. Maybe he would feel more comfortable if he saw some images of mermaids and sea creatures. He looked over at Yuuri who was sitting alone and eating what looked like raw shrimp. For his sake, it was probably good that he was by himself. The others would have a million questions about this. Not only that, this shrimp didn’t appear to be any of the aquarium’s residents. He would have to talk to Yuuri when they had time alone.

Unfortunately, Mila had spotted Yuuri as well and she felt bad at seeing him eating by himself. She waved over at him. “Yuuri! Come eat with us!” 

Yuuri looked up, threw away the empty can that he had, and hesitated a little bit before getting up and walking over to them. Victor moved to the side so he could sit down next to him. He could only hope that the others wouldn’t bombard him with a million questions. Later when they had a break, he could ask Yuuri out. 

“We saw you were all alone.” Mila explained. “This is Georgi and Otabek. They work next door at the Museum of the Unexplained.” 

“Museum of the Unexplained?” Yuuri repeated.

“Feh, it’s nothing fancy. It’s a museum that has stuff about ghosts, aliens, monsters...all of that crap.” Yuri grumbled. “The best thing about that place is all the cool lights and sounds. Otabek’s in charge of that.”

“And I am a witch!” Georgi added. 

Yuuri nodded. “I think it sounds interesting. I keep passing by it but never went inside.”

“Really?” Victor was suddenly intrigued. If there was ever an opening, this was it. “I can take you there one day when we have a break. We have employee discounts to everything in there!” Then he calmed down and tried to ask him out in a different way. “Do you want to go there tomorrow with me?”

“Um...yes, I think we can go tomorrow.” Yuuri agreed. “I do want to check it out.”

“Well, good! Now that’s over with, we have to go back to work and I have to get back into that stupid manatee costume.” Yuri grumbled. “Fuck, I am not looking forward to entertaining kids this way.”

Lunch ended for them and they had to go back to work. Yuri had reasons not to be happy with his new role. As soon as all the children saw the manatee walking around, they wanted to hug it and take pictures. They were sitting in front of all the manatees swimming around, which excited everyone. Story time wasn’t nearly as bad because that was when the children were well behaved. After it was over, they were restless. It wasn’t helpful when Mila, in her mermaid getup, asked all the children, “Who wants to give the manatee a hug?!”

“ME!” Every single child yelled and they soon launched themselves onto Yuri in his manatee costume. They all wanted to touch the squishy manatee walking around. Victor was trying hard to contain his laughter. Yakov, on the other hand, couldn’t help but smile at this. Lila, who owned the aquarium with him, nudged him on the side.

“Don’t laugh, Yakov! You did this to him!” She snapped. Secretly, she was also amused by this. They all watched as one child ran over and kicked the manatee in a place where no one deserved to be kicked. Yuri toppled down as the child screamed at him and ran off. 

“That’s for invading Poland!” 

“What the…” Yuri never got to finish his sentence as he started chasing after children. “Get back, you brats! Do you want your pictures with me or not? Get here now or I’ll kick your asses!”

“Language, Yura!” Mila warned him.

“Ah, shut up, hag! I…” He never finished his sentence because a little girl tried to climb on his back. “Hey! Get off me!” 

“I love this manatee!” The little girl yelled. “I want to keep it forever!” 

Victor wanted to watch more but his mind wandered back to Yuuri. He was the only one who wasn’t here and he had a good idea where he went. Quietly, he excused himself and went over to where the sting rays were. Since all the other people were in other areas, the sting rays would be left alone and Yuuri would do whatever it was he was planning to do.

Sure enough, not only was Yuuri with the sting rays, he had already revereted into his mer-sting ray form. From waist up, he looked like a normal human being except maybe a little more beautiful and fit. Waist down was where it was interesting. He had the flippers that sting rays had and his tail was the long stinger. He swam just like the sting rays did in their tank. Victor wondered if Yuuri could sting anyone with that stinger. If so, was it lethal? He couldn’t imagine Yuuri using that stinger to hurt anything unless it attacked him. 

Right now, Yuuri seemed so happy to be playing with the rays and they were happy to have him around. He was whispering something to them and that was what kept them calm. There wasn’t a whole lot about Yuuri that was out in the open. Victor knew Yuuri ate the same foods that sting rays ate and that he reverted to this form when he went down in the water. He didn’t know how Yuuri changed back into the human form or how long he could stay in that way. 

“Yuuri?” Victor finally spoke up. Yuuri whirled around and relaxed when he saw who it was. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know where you were so I went to find you.”

“I know I’m taking a big risk getting in the water now but I needed to get in. I was feeling very weak this morning and this is the only way I can get my strength back.” Yuuri explained. “I need to get into water and swim around for a while. Then I’ll be fine.”

“How long will you be in here? If someone sees you…”

“I don’t think they will. I heard a lot of commotion back there. What’s going on?”

“Oh!” Victor suddenly remembered the craziness that was going in other room. “Ah, Yuri is having trouble with the children.”

“I should have known. Yurio didn’t seem to happy about being dressed as a manatee.” 

“Yurio?”

“Ah, that’s what my sister called him when I told her about what was going on. She said that having two Yuris in one place was going to be confusing. To make things easier, she thinks that I should refer to him as Yurio.”

“Yurio, huh? I like that name!” Victor nodded, knowing that Yuri probably wouldn’t feel the same way. “So you were able to talk to your sister?”

“For a little bit. I have to tell them what’s going on and let them know if things are safe. So far, everything is fine. Your aquarium is one of the better ones that I’ve been to. You clearly care a lot about the creatures that you are keeping and rehabilitating. I can see that the new baby manatee feels like she’s at home. However, you have a long way to go before things are perfect.”

“And what will you do if you think it’s perfect? Will you leave?”

“I don’t want to.” Yuuri murmured. “I have a lot I need to see out here. There’s that Museum of the Unexplained that I want to go to.”

“We can go tomorrow if you want.” Victor suggested. This was his perfect opportunity to take Yuuri out. “They have a section on mermaids and sirens. It might remind you of home.”

“Well, I’m not exactly a mermaid or a siren but I am interested in that. Can we go during lunch?”

“Yes! That is perfect! I_”

“Oi, is anyone here?!” Yuri yelled into the room. “I need some help getting out of this costume!” 

“It’s Yurio!” Yuuri whispered as he saw something stumble into the room. Yuri had come in, nearly trampled on and his manatee head was on backwards. He had no idea where he was going or what was happening. “I have to hide!”

“What do I do?” Victor asked.

“Distract him! Help him! Just keep him away from the sting ray tank for now!” Yuuri told him. 

“Victor, is that you?” Yuri asked. “Help me take this fucking thing off! I can’t see anything!”

“Ah, I’m coming!” Victor watched Yuuri went back into the water with the rays and went to help. Somehow, Yuri’s manatee head was on backwards and he was having trouble getting it off. Carefully, Victor helped him take it off and Yuri began to breathe normally. “Are you all right?”

“No! I never want to do this again!” Yuri spat out. “Those kids were jumping all over me! Yakov did this to punish me for something! I know that for a fact!” He sat up and looked around. “Where did that pig go? I thought this was his favorite place.”

“Um…” Victor looked over at the sting ray tank and didn’t see Yuuri in it. He had no idea where Yuuri could hide because there wasn’t much in the tank to hide behind. “I don’t know.”

“I could have sworn I heard you two talking in here. Where is he?”

“I...I think he went…” Victor had no idea what to say. There was no Yuuri in the sting ray tank and he never saw him transform back into a human. There were no wet spots or footprints on the floor either. “I’m not sure…”

“I’m here!” Yuuri came from the other end, transformed back into his human form. It was as though he had never been around those rays. “I’m sorry. I went to the bathroom.”

“Huh.” Yuri seemed suspicious but said nothing about it. He did think something was off about the other Yuuri especially with the way that the rays acted around him. “Well, since you’re here, help me out of this stupid costume.”

As they helped Yuri get out, Victor had to ask Yuuri one more time. “So you do want to go out tomorrow? Around break time?”

“I would like that very much. I especially want to see that section on the mermaids and sirens.” He nodded. “It’s a date then.”

“It’s a date.” Victor repeated, ignoring Yuri’s eyeroll. Now that they would have time alone, he could find out more about Yuuri. He would be able to know if what they had about the mermaids was true. Maybe Yuuri would open up more if he saw what they had. He would talk about his secret mission and what he truly was. He would probably bring up more about his family and other sea creatures that the world didn’t know about. 

This date was going to be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No manatees were harmed in the making of this fic. 
> 
> Yell at me at my tumblr: [fallsintograce](https://fallsintograce.tumblr.com/).
> 
> ETA: Fan art of Yurio in the manatee costume by Estellie! Thank you! [Fan art over here.](http://estellie.tumblr.com/post/173858899146/really-quick-doodle-of-angry-yurio-in-a-baby)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of the date arrives and is about to end in disaster...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIVE! I'm in a bit of a slump when it comes to writing YOI stuff but I'm trying to get back into it. 
> 
> First, check out this fan art of Yurio in the manatee costume from Este! [I'm dying of laughter, it's amazing XD ](http://estellie.tumblr.com/post/173858899146/really-quick-doodle-of-angry-yurio-in-a-baby)
> 
> Second, blue-footed boobies are amazing creatures. You'll see what I mean. If you don't know what one looks like, check this video out. [Blue-footed boobies dance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYmzdvMoUUA)
> 
> Third, things are about to get serious with the end of this chapter. Un-beta-ed chapter for now but I'll fix minor errors asap.

When the day of the date rolled around, everyone that worked in the aquarium had heard about it and wanted all the details. Since Victor was the only one that Yuuri ever opened up to, they wanted to know more about their new coworker. They wanted to know Yuuri’s favorite things, what he didn’t like, how he felt about the job, if there was a favorite animal he had, and so forth. Victor had to calm them down and tell them that it was just a short date.

“I don’t know everything yet and I don’t think he’ll tell me everything.” He said. “He probably won’t talk much to me.”

“Are you kidding?” Christophe Giacometti asked. “You’re the only one he wants to talk to. I don’t understand. What do you have that I don’t have? I’m a friendly, handsome worker here too. I don’t bite...much. What does he see in you?” 

Victor didn’t have an answer for it even though everything he said was true. Chris was a close friend who only worked part time at the aquarium. His job was mostly to let people in and handle things up front. His main job was over at a club where he worked as a bartender and part time dancer. It was said that he had that best ass on the street and no one could deny that. Today, however, he was getting a good look at Yuuri from behind and was feeling a little jealous.

“I don’t blame you for being attracted to him. That’s a rear end that can rival mine.” He admitted. “He’s a quiet one, isn’t he? Apparently, the rays all love him. I wonder how he’s able to get them to behave when he’s around.”

Victor tried hard to keep his mouth shut about Yuuri’s secret. There was no way that he could tell anyone that Yuuri was good with rays namely because he was a part of their world. He knew how they lived their lives. He ate the things they ate and swam as gracefully as they did. He could communicate with them and he knew what they were saying. However, he refused to talk about his real mission. He didn’t tell anyone yet about who he truly was and what would happen later on. 

Chris handled the next couple that came in and handed them their tickets before turning to Victor. “So you’re going on a date with him, huh? I didn’t think he wanted to hang out with anyone but those rays.”

“Ah, Yuuri’s nice. He’s just very quiet but I promise he’ll get along with the rest of us soon. I know it’s not much but I thought we could go to the Museum of the Unexplained. Maybe we’ll get lucky and run into one of the ghosts!”

“Speaking of running into things…” Chris looked over at Yuri who was already in his costume and bumping into a wall. He cursed as he made his way over to the front desk. “Watch your language! You have little kids running around here!” 

“Ah, shut up! They’ll hear the same things from anyone else around here! Goddammit, I can’t see anything with this stupid head on!” Yuri complained. “And my costume smells like piss! Seriously, did the last guy who wore this go to the bathroom in it? Did they even wash this? Ugh, I can’t walk with these stupid feet.”

Victor tried hard not to laugh but it was impossible. “Aw, Yurio, you look so cute!”

“That’s not my name! Why can’t the other Yuri get a nickname?”

Yuuri shrugged. “I’m sorry, Yurio, but my sister chose that nickname to tell us apart. I was telling her about everything and she ketp getting confused. She does have a point though. It’s going to be hard for people to know which one of us they are talking to.”

“She couldn’t have picked a better nickname?”

“It was the best she could come up with at the moment.”

“I think Yurio is fitting.” Victor nodded, looking over at Chris. “You don’t mind covering for me, do you?”

“It’s not like I have much of a choice. I only work a few days over here.” Chris said, giving a family of four their tickets. “I can feed the penguins while you’re gone. Mila did remind me to tell you to help her feed the seals though.”

“It’s not fair! Why does he get to feed penguins and seals while I’m dressed like an idiot out here?!”

“You’re dressed like one of our inhabitants! The children will love you!” Victor exclaimed.

“Yeah, they love me so much, they tried to push me into the shark tank while I was dressed like a seal!” Yuri grumbled. “I swear I’m going to get back at freaking Yakov for this!” 

No one could blame him for being annoyed. It turned out that Yakov had plans to make Yuri dress as all kinds of creatures. He was a different mascot for a different day of the week. Today, he was dressed as one of the blue-footed boobies that they had out in the back. It wasn’t quite as annoying as the manatee costume but he still hated it.

“Now he’s just doing this to fuck with me.” Yuri grumbled, waving his wings around and trying to walk. “Who the hell dresses up as a blue-footed booby?!” 

“I don’t know. You do make an adorable booby to me.” Chris teased.

“...Yeah, I’m going to pretend I never heard you say that.” Yuri muttered, turning away from them and running right into the aquarium donation box. Almost all the money fell out onto the floor. “Fuck!” 

“Language!” 

“Ah, shut up! I can’t see shit in this costume! I don’t even think it has eye holes!”

Yuuri looked over at Yuri stumbling about until Mila came over to guide him back. Then he went to help pick up the money that had fallen. “I do feel a little sorry for him. Of course, I’m also amused at the same time so I don’t know if I should laugh or not.”

Victor laughed and helped him put the money back in the box. “Don’t worry about it. Yurio gets paid to do this so he is getting something out of it. Now are you ready for our date?”

“Our date isn’t until lunch time.”

“I know but I’m excited! You’ve never been to that museum, have you?” Victor lowered his voice. “It’s supposed to be haunted.”

“I don’t believe that!”

“It’s true. You can ask Otabek. He’s run into the ghost a few times. Apparently, it loves to play around with the lights and sounds. He also swears that one of them was poking the back of his head once. He thought it was a coworker but it turned out that no one was behind him. No one else had been in the room when he was being poked.” 

Yuuri shuddered. “On second thought, maybe this might not be a good idea. I don’t want to run into a ghost.” 

“You will be fine. I’ll protect you.” Then he whispered. “Besides, I know you want to see the section on mermaids and sirens. You have to tell me if any of that is real.”

“I can tell that chances are high that most of the information is not true.” Yuuri whispered. “However, I am curious to see how humans have interpreted merfolk and sirens over the past few years. I heard their stories. I’ve seen the pictures. I’m intrigued by it all.”

Victor shrugged, unsure of what to say to that. More people were starting to file and the children had noticed the new blue-footed booby and were already in love with it. One little girl went over to Yuri in that costume and gave him a big hug while her parents tried to pull her away.

“No! I wanna keep him! I love the penguin!” The girl screamed as they took her away.

“I’m not a penguin, kid! I’m a booby!” Yuri snapped. After a second and a few giggles from people, he realized what he had said. “Dammit, I can’t believe that came out of my mouth!”

Everyone laughed while Yuuri pulled Victor close and whispered. “I’ll be right back. Be ready to go out by lunch time.”

The rest of the morning went by quietly despite how many people had shown up. All the children loved the blue-footed booby that was walking around and stumbling into walls. The new baby manatee was also getting a lot of attention and most people were very polite not to try and disturb the animals or exhibits. The most excitement was coming from everyone wanting to take photos with the booby, much to Yuri’s annoyance. 

Over at the sting ray pool, Yuuri was talking to them and trying to get some information. He was careful not to get too close in case they started splashing water again. They were calm today and Yuuri seemed to be pleased with whatever he was hearing. As Victor passed by to go feed some seals, he still wondered what secrets Yuuri was hiding from them. There was the obvious, of course, but there had to be more. What dangers were they all in? It was nothing more than a simple aquarium where animals were cared for, rehabilitated and eventually released back into the wild. There was nothing sinister going on in the back. Victor had known Yakov for years and he never had reason to believe he was a bad person. He wasn’t hurting or abusing anything behind the scenes. It just made no sense why Yuuri would be here.

“He is such a quiet person.” Mila said as she helped Victor feed the seals. Unlike the sting rays, the seals were very active today and splashing around. As soon as they saw their food, they waddled right up and started making a lot of noise. “I’ve tried to talk to him but he doesn’t seem interested in conversation. You’re the only one who he seems comfortable with. You don’t think he hates me, do you?”

Victor watched as the seals chowed down on their food. “No, he doesn’t hate anyone. He’s just not used to anything here.”

“It’s already been a few weeks. When is he going to get used to anything?”

“I don’t know.” 

He wanted the conversation to end right there. The real reason Yuuri wasn’t used to things and was keeping to himself was because he wasn’t human. He technically didn’t belong with them. He was purposely trying to keep his distance but Victor had found out some of his secrets. He knew why these rays were drawn to Yuuri and that they were protective of him. Yuuri had to be careful so that no one else learned the truth about him. Apparently, there was some danger that he couldn’t speak about.

Victor went back to feeding the seals as someone screamed “Fuck everything! I can’t see shit and these booby feet suck!” around the corner. That was more than enough to pull anyone’s attention away. 

“Oh, I think that’s Yura. He’s stuck in his costume again.” Mila sighed. She had finished her duty and nodded to Victor. “Do you mind helping me help him out of it?”

“As much as I like seeing him in that costume, I’ll help.” 

They found Yuri sitting on a bench and attempting to take his blue-footed booby costume’s head off. Mila came around and pulled it off with no issues. Yuri was flushed and annoyed but happy to breathe some air.

“I will get back at Yakov for this. Just you wait.” He grumbled. “I’ve had too many freaking kids hug me, punch me, call me a penguin or a seagull, make fun of my feet, ask me to do a dance, or blame me for state of the economy.” When he saw their faces, he added. “Don’t ask about that last one.” 

“Aw, you do make an adorable little bird.” Mila teased, poking his costume. “Look at you, all pudgy and cute.”

“Shut up, hag! I’m sweating under this thing!” Yuri snapped. Then he turned to Victor who was trying to muffle his laughter. “Don’t you have a date with stingray boy to go on?”

“Oh, that’s right! He’s waiting for me!” Victor stood up straight and ran to where the stingrays would be. “Thank you for reminding me, Yurio!”

“That’s not my name!” 

Victor ignored all that and found Yuuri waiting by the stingrays. They were still very calm and swimming around in their pool. It was an eerie feeling since he was so used to them being active, swimming about, and trying to get attention. He didn’t know what Yuuri had done to them but it was both, nice to see and a little spooky. 

Yuuri, on the other hand, was happy to see that Victor was ready. “I’ve been waiting for this moment. Everything is so peaceful today. Most of the children are very well-behaved and I haven’t seen any problems.” 

“Are you ready?” Victor asked. “I asked for a little time off so we could spend as long as we wanted to over there. Yakov wasn’t too happy until I told him that I was taking you. He thinks this will be a good bonding experience for us.” 

“Bonding experience?”

“He wants you to spend more time with us.” Victor held out his hand. “Let’s go then. Let’s bond.” 

It seemed a little forward to say that but Yuuri didn’t mind. He understood what Victor meant and had to agree with Yakov. If he wanted to stay up here a little longer, he needed to bond with all these humans. He had to be like them even if he didn’t exactly like what they were doing or he didn’t agree with them. As long as no one else found out the truth or Victor didn’t learn more about him, he would be fine.

The Museum of the Unexplained didn’t look like much from the outside. Unlike the aquarium, it was a much older building that hadn’t been renovated in years. Dust and cobwebs were hanging everywhere. The old brick building was standing and still got many people coming around. Most of the times, they were here just to see if they could run into the ghost that haunted the place. So far, the only person that Victor knew who had come across it was Otabek. Georgi also claimed to have seen someone but he wasn’t exactly reliable. He believed that he was truly a witch who could place curses on people.

As they entered the building, they were greeted by Georgi in full witch gear and heavy eye makeup. “Well, unfortunate souls into the world of the unexplained! Now tell me, how many souls are daring to enter this dangerous and mysterious realm? It costs $12.95 to get into to a world of the unimaginable, only $8 for those souls under 12!” 

“It’s just the two of us, Georgi.” Victor was used to this. “And I’m using my employee discount.” 

Georgi frowned, got them their tickets, and handed them over. “You spoiled all my fun.” 

“Is he really a witch?” Yuuri whispered. 

“No.” Victor whispered back. “But don’t tell him that. He’ll try to put a curse on you.” 

“I heard that, Victor!” Georgi shot back. “And now you will be cursed forever.”

“What a shame.” Victor took Yuuri by the hand and led him away from the evil witch of the museum. “Come on, Yuuri! Let me take you to see the mermaids and sirens!” 

The section on mermaids and sirens was a huge area with low lights and all kinds of pictures, statues, and information regarding these mystical creatures. It was no shock that there was no mer-sting ray in the mix or anything about them. All the pictures of mermaids were mostly of beautiful creatures with long hair and slender human bodies mixed with a fish’s tail. There were a few depictions of mermaids looking like a dangerous sea monsters with sharp teeth and long nails to rip people apart. There were many depictions of them yet none looked as beautiful as Yuuri did.

“Is any of it accurate?” Victor wanted to know.

 

“Some of it.” Yuuri admitted. “Merfolk are of all shapes and sizes. They don’t all look the same so they have that correct. Parts of the information about sirens are right too. However, not all merfolk have fish tails.”

“I know that now but I don’t think anyone else does. How many mer-rays are there?”

“Too many to count.” Yuuri looked around to make sure that no one else was around. When he was certain they were alone before he went on. “It’s not just mer-rays either. I’ve seen mer-jellyfish, mer-sharks, mer-dolphins, and so forth out there. Some of my friends aren’t like mermaids you see on that wall either. They all look different and act differently. Also, not all mermaids sing or can sing beautifully. In fact, some of them are terrible.”

“Yuuri, that’s mean!”

“It’s the truth! Not every single mermaid or siren knows how to sing. Some of them are so bad that people turn away from the ocean! Have you heard some strange sounds coming from the sea before? That’s a siren attempting to sing.” 

Victor started to laugh at the idea of a siren who couldn’t sing. Then he had a serious question. “How about you? Can you sing?”

Yuuri shook his head. “I have a special job, remember? I don’t have time to seduce people.”

“Really?”

“Really. In fact, I should_” He stopped as he heard something coming from the next room. “What was that? I thought we were alone.”

“We are.” Victor heard the strange moaning as well. “Oh, it’s the ghost. It’s listening in on us.”

“I thought that ghosts weren’t real!”

“They’re not supposed to be but…” There was another moan from the next room. “It could be Otabek playing around with the sound. He does that sometimes so it shouldn’t be anything to worry about. Anyway, what were you saying?”

“I was saying that I should_” A cold wind blew into the room and Yuuri was interrupted again but some groaning. “Are you sure that’s just sound effects? It sounds very real to me and it’s in the other room. I really shouldn’t talk until I’m sure we’re alone. I have to see what’s on the other side.”

“Yuuri, no! You can’t go in there!” Victor warned him.

“Is it because of the ghost?”

“No, it’s not that! It’s just that_”

He was never able to finish warning Yuuri who went into the next room that was filled with information on famous sea creatures. There was a huge section on the Loch Ness Monster along with other monsters on display. This was one of the rooms that was filled with all kinds of lights, sounds, and effects. Unfortunately for them, one of the effects happened to be water coming on and spraying people as soon as they stepped in.

The moment Yuuri went inside, the worst happened. Victor was unable to pull him back as the sprinklers came on and doused him with water. Most of it landed all over Yuuri and his legs soon dissolved back into his sting ray body. Now he couldn’t stand or do anything and there was no water nearby. The water was still spraying all over him as he tried to get out of the way. Without his human legs, he couldn't move far.

“I was going to say. This room has sprinklers in it that go off when people come in.” Victor tried to help him up. “Can you change back?”

“No, it’s not that easy. I need to get to some water quickly and I can heal fast.” Yuuri whispered. “This water spraying on me won’t help. I have to be completely submerged. I need a pool. You have to take me back to the aquarium. Make sure no one sees me or else everything I’ve done and worked for...it’s going to fall apart. Get me into some water quickly!”

“Okay, Yuuri. Hold on. I know how to get back inside without anyone noticing.” Victor tried to pick him up, feeling the wet, slippery ray body in his arms. It was hard to keep a hold of him with that stinger swishing back and forth. “How are you able to do this? How long does this last?”

Before Yuuri had a chance to reply, someone yelled. “YOU SHALL NOT PASS, UNFORTUNATE SOULS! Prepare yourselves for battle!”

Yuuri moaned and buried his head in Victor’s shoulder. He was getting weaker by the second and the last thing he needed was a battle. He wanted a pool to swim in and regain his strength. In this body, he couldn’t last very long. He needed strength so he could revert back into his human form. “What do we do now?”

“I don’t know.” Victor murmured, attempting to hide Yuuri’s tail from view. “I’ll try to get out but I don’t know if I can be fast enough.” He found an escape and tried to head for it. “Hold on, Yuuri! I’ll get you in water!” 

“A CURSE WILL FALL UPON YOU! May you never see the light of day again!”

Yuuri fainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come scream at me on tumblr: [Fallsintograce](https://fallsintograce.tumblr.com/)
> 
> (I didn't make Yurio dress as a blue-footed booby for the jokes...oh, who am I kidding? That's why I did this)
> 
> Anyway, next chapter will have more of Yuuri's POV and motives (I think I would let it happen in this one but I need some things to happen first here) . Yes, we will also hear more from his family and close friends in the sea. I know I haven't talked much about them but I will. But first, can they escape the evil witch's curse? (Lol) Find out next time!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Victor is cockblocked by stingrays (literally) and Yuuri discovers something horrifying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, got through some stuff to finally get around to updating this! I've added more to this chapter and I'm finally introducing the main conflict/plot in this. From here, things are going to speed up.
> 
> ETA: In the middle of this chapter, you can see the picture I commissioned Crimson Chains for. Enjoy the pretty Yuuri and his pretty sea friends. And give CC some love if you get a chance!

Sneaking Yuuri out of the museum was not that hard part. He had passed out so Victor had to wrap him up and keep at least the bottom half of his body covered. He had to watch out for that stinger because, while it was limp, it was still sharp. He made his way through the backdoor of the museum and towards the aquarium, trying hard not to draw attention. He knew these areas by heart and he knew how he could sneak in. He needed to get Yuuri into some water. He needed to submerge him that stingray pool so he could heal and get his energy back. He figured that was the best place to be since that pool area was usually not crowded. It also had a lot of big rocks and hiding places so if someone did come, Yuuri could hide and stay hidden until they were gone. 

There was no one near the backdoor of the aquarium so he was able to get in. This area was always empty except for the occasional employee. This was good because Victor didn’t want to answer why he had Yuuri wrapped up in his arms or why there was a giant stingray stinger wagging around them. As he entered, he could hear Yuuri moaning. “I’m almost there, Yuuri. Hold on.”

“My head hurts…” Yuuri murmured. “I need water. I have to get to water.”

“I know. I’m trying to…” He stopped in his tracks when he came across what he feared. The stingray pool was not empty like usual. This time, it was filled with people all trying to watch and feed the rays. There was no way he could push anyone out and dump Yuuri in the pool now. Those children showed no signs of leaving because the rays active and splashing around. “Oh no! I can’t put you in that water! There are too many people!”

“I need to get to water, Victor.” Yuuri whispered. “I don’t care where you put me. I just need to be in water.” 

“Let me think; I’m sure there’s somewhere I can put you.” Victor thought about all the exhibits that they had. There was no point in putting Yuuri with the manatees cause that was currently their biggest exhibition. Sending him into the shark tanks was also very risky and too many people were in that area. He didn’t want to leave him with jellyfish or the turtles. 

“Victor…” Yuuri moaned. He was struggling to stay awake at this point. “It’s okay if you want to put me with the seals too. Just anywhere will be fine.” 

“Wait, I know where we can go!” Victor realized, turning back around and heading towards the one room that no one would be. The reason for that was because this area was opened at certain times. This was the water gardens where many species of fish hung out. This place was opened twice a day and it was namely so people could watch the fish being fed. It was also a chance for people to try and feed fish themselves. These areas were only open if people had passes to see it. The next show would start in about an hour and half, which would give Yuuri some time to heal.

Victor made his way through the secret hallway that lead to the water gardens. He knew this area because he was usually one of the people feeding this fish for the shows. In fact, he was scheduled to do this today. He had been told many times by Yakov to be back from his date on time so things could run smoothly. Otherwise, they would have to deal with unhappy guests. 

“They come to see this only twice a day! Do not screw this up!” Yakov reminded him. “You may go out but you must be back in time. I do not want hundreds of people demanding for refunds just because you weren’t able to feed the fish.”

Once he found the water garden, he slowly unwrapped Yuuri and rolled him into the water. This was a calm area with all kinds of fish as well as some cownose rays. Yuuri would definitely feel a bit more at home with these rays swimming around. The fish seemed a little started by their new addition but none of them were scared. As expected, the rays swam up to the mer-ray and began to flock him. They sensed he was hurt.

“This will work.” Victor decided, leaning back against the wall. He was glad no one was here because he needed the rest. Carrying Yuuri from the other museum all the way back was not an easy task. He wasn’t that light but that slippery bottom half of his bottom and the stinger worried him. Stingrays were not as dangerous as they might have appeared but he still didn’t want to be stung by one. Right now, he looked at Yuuri in that water, blinking and slowly waking up. Those cownose rays were concerned about him so he had to assure them he was fine. Slowly, he made his way to the surface to Victor could talk to him.

“How come you never told you had more rays in here?” He asked.

“This is a special place. It’s only opened to the public twice a day and at a certain time. That’s why I brought you here. I knew no one would be around.” Victor reached into the water and gently petted some of the rays that had come up. “Are you feeling better?”

“Much better, thank you. I’m sorry I scared you like that. I guess you figured out that if I’m doused in water from my waste down, I revert into my real form. That’s not the worst part. If I’m not submerged in water quickly, it could be disastrous.” Yuuri looked at the rays that were swimming around him. “I also have to spend some time in water to keep up this form and keep healthy. That’s why I’ve spent so much time at night with the rays. They know how important this is to me.”

“How long do you need to be in the water?”

“Not long. About fifteen minutes usually helps.” Yuuri pet one of the cownose rays that had approached him. “I know I’ve kept a lot of secrets from you. You are a nice person and you do care a lot about what you’re doing. I feel bad that I’ve dragged you into this.”

“I’m fine, Yuuri. I’ve never seen anything like you but I don’t mind keeping your secrets. I just wish I knew more about you. I know you have a family but what are they like? What else do you do in your spare time? Do you miss your home?”

“Yes, I do but every now and then, I get to talk to them. As you probably figured, they are mer-rays just like I am. My parents don’t hate humans and my sister is a little wary of them but she’d never hurt anyone. Not unless they hurt her. We live far from here though and they were all worried about me making my way to the shore. I don’t get to see them much while on assignment but I try to stay in touch. I usually want to know how my friends are doing, how things are in the ocean, how Vicchan is doing_”

“Vicchan?”

“Oh, that’s my pet! His name’s Victor.” Yuuri turned red when he realized that his pet had the same name. “That was before I met you! We were trying to figure out names for him and someone suggested Victor because it sounded strong and powerful. I didn’t think I’d ever meet anyone with that name.” He looked down and turned a brighter shade of red. “Oh, I almost forgot! I’m about to turn back but...I don’t have any clothes. The ones I wore are still wet and I have a spare change of them in my office.”

“You’re turning back?” Now Victor was curious. Sure enough, that tail was starting to form into two human legs and his mind went in another place. If Yuuri was pretending to be human, did he have everything that humans had? From waist below, what did he look like? He wanted to take a peek but several rays seemed to realize what he was thinking. Quickly, they surrounded Yuuri and blocked Victor’s few. It was as if they were trying to say ‘“Nice try, buster! You’re not getting that close!”

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=25zi1zl)

“Yes, it happens fast sometimes. I can never predict it. Can you do me a favor and get me some clothes or at least a towel?” Yuuri asked. 

“I don’t have your keys. Can’t you get them?”

“Victor, I’m naked! I can’t run upstairs like this! Besides, no one would want to see me naked!”

 _I wouldn’t be so sure about that._ Victor wanted to reply. For once, he was upset that there were creatures swimming around in this pool. After looking at the rays still circling Yuuri’s body, he had an idea. “Okay, Yuuri. Stay right there. I think I can get you_”

Before he could finish his sentence, someone ran into the room and started screaming. “For the last time, kid, I didn’t rig the fucking election! Stop blaming me for that! And I’m not a pelican, I’m a booby!” 

“It’s Yurio!” Yuuri whispered watching as someone dressed as a blue-footed booby ran in. “What do we do?”

“Hey, is someone in here?” Yurio demanded. “I need to get out of this stupid costume again!” 

“What do we do?” He was starting to panic. If Yuri was able to see them, he’d have to let someone else in on this secret. It was bad enough Victor knew. Yuuri still hadn’t told him the main reasons he was here even though most of those reasons were rumors. He had to do a little more investigating around the aquarium.

“Hey, I can hear you!” Yuri yelled. “Who’s in here? Where am I?”

Victor thought quickly and called out to him. “I’m here, Yurio! You’re in the water gardens and I’ll get you out of the costume soon.”

“That’s not my name, Victor!” Yuri snapped. “And you’re supposed to be getting ready for the show! Yakov’s looking everywhere for you cause these doors are going to open soon!” He tried to remove his booby costume’s head but struggled. “I blame this on Mila! That hag managed to slam this damn thing on my head and now I need it off! I can’t see anything! 

“I’m coming!” Victor looked over at Yuuri as if to ask what he was going to do. He couldn’t leave either one of them like this and Yuri was right; he did have a show to perform soon. Yuuri motioned him to go and help out.

“Don’t worry about me.” He whispered. “I’ll hide if I have to during the show. I can stay in this water for a long time. Just go help Yurio and get ready. If needed, I’ll figure a way out.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! Now go!” Yuuri looked down and saw that he now had his human legs. The rays were still protecting him but he didn’t need it anymore. “I’ll find something to cover myself if I have to! Just help him out!” 

Victor went over to where Yuri was and led him away. “How did you get stuck in your costume again, Yurio?”

“Why are you calling me that? Just because the other Yuuri is doing it doesn’t mean you have to!”

“Ah, but it’s fun to call you that!” Victor looked over his shoulder at Yuuri who was motioning him to get out. He left with Yuri to help him get out of the costume. “We should have called you that a long time ago. Yurio! It sounds nice!”

“Shut up, old man, and get me out of this thing already! You have to get ready for your stupid show, anyone. Those kids are lining up and throwing shit at me cause they can’t wait.” 

Victor laughed as he closed the door behind him and Yuuri was finally alone. He had reverted back into human form and would stay that way for a long time. The water was his friend. It not only healed him, it was the one place where he felt at home. He could swim as both, his true form and in human form, down here. This ability had been given to him by his teacher, Minako, who told him to be careful around water on shore. If he were splashed by water, fresh or salt, he would turn into his mer-ray form and would need to be submerged in a pool of water to heal. He always needed to recharge in the water, which was why he spent so many nights at the aquarium. He needed to swim with the rays when no one was looking.

This assignment had been given to him three months ago and he was a little apprehensive about checking this aquarium out. He had been an investigator for a while now but this place was nothing compared to some of the others he had visited. The workers were friendly, it was a clean area with plenty of room for everyone, they rehabilitated many injured creatures before releasing them, and was deemed as one of the best aquariums in the country. On first glance, there was nothing to be worried about. He had heard good things so he was surprised when he was asked to go investigate it.

“I don’t see anything wrong with it. It’s not like the other places where the fish are swimming in such tiny ponds.” He pointed out. “Are you sure it needs to be looked into?”

Minako shook her head. “Never be fooled by something’s outward appearance, Yuuri. There are rumors that something shady is going on down there. Money laundering, plans to break down the aquarium and hurt the animals...I have heard it all. You have to keep an eye on it. I want you to watch these people and report back everything you hear. We will do whatever we can to stop it.”

That was how this always went. Yuuri was given an assignment every year to investigate a place. This was a job he had picked up when he was old enough to visit shores and see what the land was like. Most merfolk didn’t venture out there unless they were investigators. So when he was old enough, that’s what he became. His teacher Minako was the one who taught him everything about the land and people. She herself had been an investigator of aquariums and she had seen plenty of horrible conditions they were in. As a result, she had become wary of human beings. 

“I’ve learned they are not as friendly as they may appear.” She explained. “Humans seem soft and stupid and some of them are. Some of them are completely unaware of the harm they are causing. I don’t worry about them so much as I do about the ones that are intelligent. These are the ones who are aware of the harm they do. They do not care for the world or their fellow human beings. You have to be careful around them, Yuuri. They appear kind but they are not. They are hiding something sinister.”

Yuuri took all this and trained with Minako for years. He wanted to do this partially because of fascination with humans. He was curious as to how they lived their lives and what they did. This was the moment he looked forward to every year. It was sad that he couldn’t spend everyday out there so he cherished these moments. When he first started, his family was apprehensive about this but Minako promised she’d take care of him. She knew exactly what she needed to do and how to help him. She’d make sure that he became one of the best. 

He wasn’t the only investigator that was out on the shore now. His friend Phichit was also on assignment but he had been sent to an aquarium on the other side of the world. The two of them had promised to stay in touch with each others while on assignment but he hadn’t heard from Phichit in days. The last time had been two weeks ago when Phichit told him that he was having a blast. The aquarium he was at was like a mini-ocean with a lot of room for the sea creatures. After that, Yuuri heard nothing so he had no idea what was happening. 

_If he’s having a good time, he’s probably busy. He won't be able to answer me right away._ He told himself, looking at the cownose rays around him. There was nothing to be alarmed about. If Phichit was in trouble, someone would let him know. His friend was strong and smart and knew how to get along with humans. He’d be able to take care of himself and he would fight off anyone that tried to hurt him. 

Yuuri petted one of the rays as it swam up to him. Days in aquarium weren’t too bad. These rays were now his friends. They were the only other creatures who knew why he was here. He had told them everything and now they were on alert for suspicious behavior. As for Yuuri himself, he did very little to draw attention. He was friendly with everyone that came here. He could tell stories to children and give all kinds of facts about sea creatures. He could even tell them things about merfolk if they ever asked. That’s why he wished he had spent more time in the museum. He wanted to see what else humans knew about them. So far, they had the basics but not much beyond that. People thought merfolks all looked the same when they didn’t. There was also no information about investigators. In fact, as big as the exhibit was, there wasn’t much about it. 

He felt terrible that their date had ended so abruptly and that he had reverted to his real form. Not only did he risk himself being caught, he also risked Victor’s life. He knew how dangerous his stinger was and he had no intention to try and hurt him. If Victor was stung by that stinger, it would poison him and the results would be fatal. It was his fault that things had been cut short because he wanted to talk more about his life. He wanted to explain what an investigator was and what was going on deep down. The museum told them nothing on that. 

_Then again, people aren’t supposed to know about us. Victor found out but no one else can. As long as I keep drinking my potion and keep to myself, I’ll be fine._

Before he had left, Minako had given him enough potion to help him change into human form whenever he needed it. Spending time in water also helped but it took longer and it didn’t work all the time. This depended on the kind of water he was in. Since there was no guarantee he would be near water all the time, he had an alternate way to do that. It was a creation that Minako came up with years ago when she started investigating things on land. This potion lasted twenty-four hours so that gave him enough to work at this aquarium and mingle with people. Unfortunately, this potion was also in his office with everything else and he couldn’t run to get that. The rays were still circling around him now that he had legs and everything he needed to be human.

“Okay, now I need to find a way to get out.” He murmured, wishing Victor would come back soon. He could hide during the show but he still didn’t feel comfortable. What if the show started and Victor found him naked in these waters? These stingrays were not going to be able to protect him forever. He looked around for something to cover him up. Over in the corner, he saw someone had left a towel with stingrays all over it. “Well, that’s not subtle at all and I don’t know who it belongs to but it will work.” 

The rays nuzzled against him as he made his way towards the edge. It was good to have them for company. These rays knew how lonely he felt in here so they did their best to make him feel welcome. He still couldn’t see what was so bad about this aquarium. Yakov was a little gruff but it was only because he cared a lot and only wanted the best out of everyone. Lilia was the exact same way. A lot of the employees were very friendly. Mila always wanted to get Yuuri to hang out with the others and talk to him. Yuri was a little explosive but that was mostly because of the fact that he got stuck doing the jobs no one else wanted to do. Then there was Victor who Yuuri never expected to like. Victor just seemed so popular and a man who loved his job. Yuuri had seen how people flocked to him whenever they saw him. He had that vibe around him that made him so well loved.

At the same time, there was a soft side to Victor that very few people saw. There was the Victor that loved teasing his coworkers and playing with the animals in their aquarium. Underneath that smooth facade was a big soft puppy who would never hurt a fly. The more Yuuri thought about him, the redder his face got. Why would Victor even look in his direction? He trusted him with his secrets but he was starting to feel more here. He didn’t even know what that feeling was. 

The doors opened again and Yuuri sank back into the water, wondering if Victor had come back. Instead, it was two men that he did not recognize and they didn’t seem to be thrilled at the sight of the water gardens. The rays were also getting tense so he knew this wasn’t good news. They didn’t get this agitated unless they were sensing trouble. Yuuri did his best to hid behind the group of rays and fish as he listened to these men talk. Their voices weren’t loud but he could hear most of it.

“So how long will it take to tear this place apart?” One of them asked.

“I’m still trying to convince Yakov to give it up. He’s going to be hard to convince but if we give him the right price, he’ll hand it over in no time. Then we can tear it down.”

Yuuri held together as he tried to listen closer. These men were trying to bribe Yakov to rip apart the aquairum yet he couldn’t figure out why. Who were they and why did they want to do this? He hadn’t heard anything about people wanting to tear the aquarium down. It was a popular spot and important for so many of the sea creatures that needed to heal. There was no reason to rip it apart.

“If he doesn’t take the money, what do we do?” The other man wanted to know.

“You don’t need to worry about that. We’ve got leverage. Yakov cares about this place so we have aim for something he cares about more. There are a couple of employees that could be of use to us. That girl dressed up as a mermaid by the manatee section is one of them. The kid dressed as a blue-footed duck is another.”

 _Mila and Yurio._ Yuuri realized, feeling sick deep down. Nothing about this was good. 

“Those are good choices but I was thinking about the other one. He’s quite popular. If anything were to happen to him, Yakov would crumble. He would never be able to live with himself if anything happens to pretty boy.”

 _Victor. No, not Victor!_ Now Yuuri knew there was trouble and soon understood why he was sent here. The rumors he had heard were true. The aquarium had a shady side to it and he needed to find out what was going on before someone got hurt. Whatever happened, Yakov could not give in to these demands. 

“So it’s settled. We'll handle this like we handled that other aquarium. Either Yakov hands it all over to us or we’re gonna feed pretty boy to the sharks.”

Yuuri began to shake and he could feel the rays around him sensing his fear. He listened to the men laughing and they turned around to face the fish in the water garden. Moving quickly, he hid behind the rocks and peered from around them. They looked in disgust at everything swimming around before moving away from the tank. He was afraid now but he had to tell someone about this. He had to keep investigating until he got to the bottom of this case. He needed to protect everyone because he didn’t know what these men could do.

And judging from what they said, if Yakov didn’t give in, Victor was in grave danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!!!!!!!
> 
> Scream at me here or on tumblr: [fallsintograce](http://fallsintograce.tumblr.com)
> 
> For those worrying, Phichit is not dead, don't worry. I could never do that to him. He's still alive but where he is remains a mystery. *eyes* Don't worry, we will see way before this is over. 
> 
> Cownose rays are real and very cute by the way. Those rays don't want Victor to see naked Yuuri. Better luck next time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are moving along...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little slow and I apologize for that. I'm still trying to get back into the groove of things and I didn't want to let this one linger around too long. Hopefully, things will pick up and updates will be a little quicker. Thanks for your patience!

Yuuri had wrapped himself in that stingray towel and tried to move discretely through the aquarium in hopes of finding Victor. Not only did he need clothes and to get back to work, he needed to talk to someone. His best bet was the one person who knew his secret right now. If he didn’t find out who these people were, everyone in this aquarium was in danger. He needed to figure out a way to save it, the sea creatures within it, and the employees. Hearing them talk about Victor that way was making him sick.

 _I can’t let them hurt him or anyone else in this place. I don’t know what I can do now except keep an eye on him. I have to make sure he doesn't do anything to anger someone._ He thought, doing his best to avoid the lines of visitors around. There were anxious, excited children waiting to get inside the water gardens just to watch some fish and rays being fed. He was glad he had gotten out as soon as his legs were back and he had the towel to cover himself. 

As he was about to go out the back door and into the room with the stingrays, Victor showed up with a pile of clothes. “Oh, Yuuri, there you are! I finally found you something to wear!” He held up a T-shirt that had the words ‘I’M A WHALE OF A HUSBAND’ with a picture of a humpback whale in place of the word. “What do you think?”

Yuuri wanted to slam his head into the wall. “This is all you could find? We have a lot of T-shirts in the gift shop and this was the best thing you could pick?”

“I’m sorry, Yuuri. I didn’t have much time to look. As soon as I went inside, Yakov found me and told me to get in the water tank within fifteen minutes. They’re about to open the doors. Speaking of which, I need to go.” He shoved the T-shirt and a pair of shorts with manatees on them in Yuuri’s arms. “I’ll find you something better later, okay? If Yakov asks, tell them it was my fault that I got your clothes wet and you needed something to wear!” 

“But Victor, I need to talk to you!” 

“Not now, Yuuri! After everything is done, okay?” 

There was no use in trying to stop him because Victor ran through the back door where the water gardens were. Yuuri wasn’t too thrilled with this T-shirt but it would have to do for now. At least he wasn’t going to run around naked. When no one was looking, he made his way into the bathroom and changed. Minus the atrocious saying, the shirt itself was very comfortable as were the manatee-covered shorts. They didn’t match but they would be fine for a short period of time. He could wear these and make his way to the office where he had a spare change of regular clothes. He just needed to get up there without anyone stopping him and he could do that in this ridiculous outfit.

Those hopes were dashed when Yakov spotted him. “Yuuri! What are you wearing?!”

“Um…” Yuuri scrambled to come up with a good excuse. “You’ll have to forgive me. When Victor and I went out, he accidentally got my uniform wet and_”

“Oh, say no more.” Yakov sighed. “I knew it. Somehow, I knew Vitya was behind this.”

“I have an extra pair of clothes upstairs and I was just running to get that.”

“That will be fine but I actually came to ask another favor of you. I’ve never had you take anyone on a tour before, have I?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Yuuri wasn’t sure he liked where this was headed. He didn’t mind telling people facts about the ocean or answering questions but touring was different. He did help the others now and then if they needed it. Doing it alone would be another challenge.

“Well, I have some friends from the Insect Emporium coming around tomorrow and I was wondering if you could show them around. At this point, I think you know where everything is and you are very knowledgeable. It will not be a big group, just only three or four people. We do this every year. They come to visit us and see what new things we have and we send someone over there to see what they have. Then I meet with them and we talk about how we can improve things.”

“And you’d like me to take them on tour? Wouldn’t someone with more experience be a better fit?”

“I was thinking that but everyone else has important things to do tomorrow. Besides, I think this will be a great opportunity to get to know the others. It will give you something to do other than looking after stingrays. They seem to be fond of you.” Yakov sniffed. “So will you do it?”

“I can do it.” Yuuri nodded, hoping to lead into a conversation about what he heard. Yakov was here now and he had a golden opportunity. “I also wanted to ask you_”

“Excellent! I’ll introduce you to them tomorrow! Now go and get changed! We still have a lot more work to do!” 

Yakov went off to talk to someone else and Yuuri felt defeated. His opportunity to get more information was flying out the window. Things would be better if he had someone he could lean on. Yet most of his family and friends weren’t on land, Phichit was still missing, and Victor was too busy to hear him out. Maybe he just needed a moment where he could relax and talk in private. He needed to collect his thoughts. 

The first thing he had to do was get out of this stupid T-shirt. As soon as he started to walk away, he heard Yuri snicker, “Nice outfit! You’re the only person I’ve seen willingly wearing that shirt.”

Yuuri wanted to fire back that at least he wasn’t dressed like a blue-footed booby but stopped himself. He had found someone he could talk to. “Yurio, are you busy?”

“Not really. A whole bunch of kids were trying to hug me and take pictures but now I’m on break.” He sighed. “What do you want?”

“Well, I wanted to ask you some questions about this place. You have been working here long enough to know everyone, right?”

“Yeah, I know everyone. I know a lot of people who work around this area. Speaking of which, I heard you get to take the people from the Insect Emporium on a tour.” Yuri smirked. “Good luck with that. You get to deal with JJ for a whole day.” 

“Who’s JJ?”

“Ugh, that’s Jean-Jacques Leroy whose family owns the Insect Emporium. He thinks he’s the king of world. In actually, he’s just a pain in the ass. It’s fitting he works where the bugs are. He’s with his own kind. I wish all the luck dealing with him. Between that and dressing like a blue-footed booby, I’d rather wear the booby costume.” 

Yuuri was not thrilled upon hearing this but he knew he could get through that. There were far more important things to find out first. “Yurio, can I ask you something? You’ve been working here for some time, right?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“Have you ever noticed anything strange going in the background? Has Yakov ever had any money troubles or gotten on someone’s bad side?” Yuuri began. “Has the aquarium had an trouble at all?”

“Well, we get those annoying protestors now and then. They just hang around aside, wave signs around, and chant stuff. We ignore them most of the time. Other than that, they’ve never really done anything to us. As for Yakov, he tells us that everything is fine. We don’t have to worry about the money or the place closing down.”

“So you don’t think he’s in danger?”

“Yakov? Pfft, no way! He’s the last person that would ever be in trouble. If anyone tries anything, he’ll take care of them. I wouldn’t worry about that.” Yuri stood up and got ready to face more children outside as the blue-footy booby. “I have to go now. As soon as those kids come out, they’re all going to want to take pictures with me. Then tomorrow, Yakov wants me to dress up as a starfish. Ugh!”

Yuuri let him go and decided to make his way upstairs where he could change out of these clothes. He wasn’t surprised that Yuri didn’t know anything about what was going on. If Yakov and Lilia were in trouble, they would try to keep it a secret. They wouldn’t try to put anyone else’s life at risk. However, this did not answer any of the questions he had. Talking to Yuri didn’t give him much so he needed to talk to Victor. 

Victor. So far, he had not been able to get any time with him now that he was back to normal. He had a lot to tell him but more importantly, he had to keep him safe. He wanted to make sure Victor was not alone when he was dealing with anything dangerous. No one would try to pull off anything now while there were so many people here. The only ones who could tell him if anything strange was happening were his friends in the water. He needed to get his news from the stingrays when no one else was around them. 

He went over to where the rays were and they swam up to him when they saw he was fine. No one else was paying attention to them right now so he could whisper his instructions. “It’s okay, it’s just me! I need your help though.” They were curious about this so they got in close. “I’m worried about things in this place. Someone is trying to hurt the people here and I need to figure out who. Do me a favor and keep an eye on everything. Make note of something that might be suspicious. I’ll come by later tonight to get all the information. Understood?”

They splashed around to show that they understood and would do everything he asked. That was one thing taken care of. The rays would watch everyone carefully and he would figure out what was happening. Gently, he stroked one of them as they swam by.

“Talking to your friends again?” Mila teased as she walked by. Yuuri felt something inside of him drop and he hoped she hadn’t heard everything. “They really like you.”

“I like them.” Yuuri replied. “They’re not as scary as some people think. They’re like any other animal; don’t bother them and they won’t bother you. Unfortunately, humans don’t seem to understand that. They’re probably afraid of everything.”

“You’re right.” Mila sighed. “I had to tell someone not to tap the glass too hard because I know that will bother the sharks. They snapped back at me and threatened to yell Yakov about it. I don’t think Yakov will be upset though. He gets complaints like this all the time but he knows me. Some people are just too entitled.” 

“I can see that.” Yuuri felt relieved that she hadn’t heard what he said. “Is Victor done feeding the fish?”

“No, but he will be soon. He asked me where you were so I told him I would find you.” She looked at the strange clothes that he was wearing. “You should get changed now if you want to see the end of that show. It’s one of the few times that the children actually stay quiet and pay attention to things.” 

“You’re right. I’ve wasted too much time down here.” Yuuri started to head upstairs to where he had an extra pair of clothes. He wanted to ask Mila about things in the aquarium but he was more concerned about Victor. What if these men had gotten to him before Yuuri could warn him about this? He would never forgive himself if something happened. Since he didn’t hear any commotion, he assumed things were fine for now.

 _They probably haven’t done anything yet. I have to keep my eye out for them._ He realized, finding his office and getting a new pair of clothes. As he changed, he thought about his family and friends back in the sea. It was difficult to keep this secret and not have any of them around for support. He also worried about Phichit, who still hadn’t said a word. He had no clue about his whereabouts and he had no idea where to start looking. Phichit had kept this a secret from everyone for once. He promised he would give them all the story later on but there was silence on his end as soon as he left. 

Yuuri finished getting changed and started heading downstairs as Victor starting coming upstairs. He looked relieved when they ran into each other. “Oh, you’re okay! I thought something happened to you, Yuuri. You missed the whole show!”

“I’m sorry.” Yuuri apologized. “I meant to see some of it but I got sidetracked. How did it go?”

“Fine. Your stingray friends don’t seem to like me anymore though. Anytime I tried to pet them, they swam away from me. They didn’t even want to be fed by the children. Everyone kept asking me why they were acting that way. Did you tell them anything?”

“No, I think they’re just protective of me.” Yuuri then decided to ease into his next question. Maybe Victor had more information than anyone else. “I actually want to know…have you ever had trouble with anyone? Has a visitor ever bothered you? Mila did mention someone snapped at her when she told them not to touch the glass.” 

“Oh, that? That happens a lot. People get mad when we tell them to follow rules but no one’s ever threatened to hurt us. At most, they threaten to get us fired though they never go through with it. Other than that, nothing happens here. We get protestors but they usually stay outside.”

“Yes, I heard about them.” Yuuri murmured, feeling more scared than before. No one seemed to know what was going on. It was going to be up to him to reveal this. “I do need to talk to you in private. Will you be able to stay after hours tonight?”

“I can.” Victor saw the look on Yuuri’s face and realized this was serious. “Is something wrong? Did someone else find out?”

“No!” Yuuri cut him off. If anyone else was nearby, he didn’t want them to listen in. “It’s not that but it is something serious. It’s something you need to know about but I can’t tell you here. Can you meet me where the stingray pool is? Make sure everyone else is gone by then. That’s the best place where I can talk to you.” 

“I can do that.” Victor was now concerned. “Yuuri, what happened? Are you trouble?”

“No, but you might be.” Yuuri whispered. “Things are fine right now but come see me later. I need you to be careful wherever you go. Be careful who you talk to.”

“Why?”

“Because”, Yuuri sighed and tried to say as little as possible, “if you aren’t cautious, your life could be at risk. And after what I heard, I think it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is when things get a little steamy, fyi ;) Be ready for it. *shifty eyes*
> 
> Come yell at me in the comments or tumblr: [fallsintograce](https://fallsintograce.tumblr.com)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of truth-revealing and a new person arrives...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone. I apologize for lack of updates everywhere but I've been busy and running around a lot lately. It's given me little time to focus on fics but now I have some time so here's a quick update of this fic! It's not the most exciting stuff happening or the most romantic but I need a little bridge before we get to the good stuff in the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!

The night fell a lot quicker than Yuuri had imagined it would. The aquarium was soon quiet and empty as the other people started to leave. Once more, he had volunteered to stay late and check up on everything. He just hoped that Victor would keep his promise and meet him where the sting rays were. They had rays everywhere but the one place that he wanted to be in was a little deeper than the usual petting pool. This was the area that people could only stare them. They couldn’t touch them or feed them. It was also the perfect place because it was darker and the only other creatures swimming around with the rays were various kinds of fish. None of the guards or people who worked late would interrupt them. They would have this area to themselves.

Yuuri waited until the time was right to transform. Once back in his true form, he got into the water with the other rays. All of them seemed to be very nervous about Victor. They weren’t acting like their usual friendly selves. As soon as Yuuri mentioned Victor’s name, they immediately formed a barricade around his body. 

“It’s okay! Victor never hurts anyone in the aquarium! You've seen him! You know takes care of all the fish and everything else that lives here, including you.” Yuuri assured them. “Everything is going to be fine. I know you are wary but none of them humans have done anything wrong. I’ve seen what they are capable of. They really are trying to help all these animals and heal them before they can send them back into the ocean. You don’t have anything to worry.”

That wasn’t enough to convince. They continued to circle around him as if they wanted to protect him from harm. Once Victor entered the room, they swam even closer around him. Yuuri looked apologetically at Victor who was standing at the edge of the pool. 

“I’m sorry. They seem very agitated for some reason.” He apologized. “I’ve been trying to figure out why and they say that humans are scaring them. I thought it might have been because of the child and people trying to pet the rays in the pool but it’s not that. They’re scared about something else. They get especially irritated at night.”

“They are very protective of you.” Victor noted. “I’ve never seem them get so close to anyone. Did they tell you what’s bothering them?”

“They’re actually on the lookout for something. That’s the main reason I called you in here.” Yuuri began. “Can you get into the water?”

“Move back a little bit. I’m going in.” 

He did as he was told and moved back a few feet with the rays. Victor dove right in and swam around underwater for a little bit with the fish. The rays were still around Yuuri and they seemed to be more annoyed now that a human had joined them. He could tell that they wanted to do something but couldn’t at the moment. Yuuri would not let them hurt Victor since he was not one that they needed to look out for. 

After a few seconds, Victor popped out of the water and shook droplets out of his hair. “So what is it that you wanted to tell me? What was so secret that we had to meet in here?”

“I’m worried about the aquarium.” Yuuri began. “I asked Yurio earlier if Yakov had ever done anything illegal or was in any kind of trouble. He doesn’t know of anything so maybe you might. You’ve been working here longer.”

“Yakov doing something illegal?” Victor frowned. “I know he gets angry at people protesting outside but he just yells at them. He would never hurt anybody. Yakov may be grumpy but he’s not an awful person. He cares a lot about this place and the animals that live here.”

“Well, I’m thinking that he might have done something wrong. I think he angered somebody and now they want revenge.”

“Why? What made you think that?”

Yuuri took a deep breath as he felt the rays swimming closer and nearly hitting him with their stingers. Nothing would happen if he had been stung as he was just like them. The only one in danger of getting hurt in here was Victor. He was doing his best not to get near the stingers and just let the rays play around Yuuri. 

“This is going to sound crazy but you must believe me.” Yuuri went on. “Please have an open mind about this. I’m only saying this because I want to protect you and all the other animals that live here.”

“Okay.” Victor was confused. “Is something wrong with the aquarium? Did you find something that no one knows about?”

Yuuri kept opening and closing his mouth, trying to come up with a way to answer him. “Do you remember when I was in the other pool and I was recovering? You went off to feed some fish and put on a show for the other visitors. Well, while you were gone, two men came into the room. I don’t know who they were but they seem very serious. They clearly didn’t want to be found but they had no idea I was in the pool. I hid from view so I could overhear what they were talking about. I’ve never seen them before and they didn’t look like they were visitors.”

Now it was Victor’s turn to be concerned. “Do you remember what they looked like?”

“Not really. It was a little hard to see in that room. I do remember listening in on the conversation and it seems like Yakov owes them money or something. That’s why I was wondering if Yakov did anything wrong. These men didn’t seem very happy and they may put you and the others in danger.”

Victor paled at that. “Why?”

“I don’t know. They might want to do something soon so I want you to be on your guard.” Yuuri took Victor’s hand and squeezed it. “I’ve asked the rays to keep an eye on anything suspicious. I know they might try to hurt you. They singled you out because I guess it would hurt Yakov.”

“I see.” Victor swam back to the edge and pulled himself out of the pool. “I should be careful then.”

“Yes.” Yuuri looked down at the stingrays around him. They were still very nervous but it wasn’t because of Victor. They had sensed something that they couldn’t understand. “I’m going to look around and see if I can figure out what’s going on. Maybe there is a way to stop them.”

“If you do find them again, what will you do?”

Yuuri took a deep breath, wondering if it was a good idea to reveal more about himself. Victor already knew that he wasn’t human. He knew that Yuuri had a mission while he was here. He just didn’t know that there was more to this story. “You don’t have to worry about that. I will take care of them.”

“How? If they’re willing to hurt Yakov, they will hurt you too.”

“You’ll see. For now, I just need you to keep your eyes opened and note anything suspicious. Watch the others as well. They could go after anyone.”

Victor nodded but felt more confused than before. Yuuri was a big mystery all right and it wasn’t because he wasn’t human. He was hiding far too much and he wasn’t ready to reveal it. Everything he did, he was doing it at night when very few people would be watching. He would go into the rooms that he knew no one would be in. During the day time, he didn’t interact with too many people. He was always very careful in case anyone found out his secret. Victor had done his part in keeping things to himself but he was still curious. Who was Yuuri? What did he really want? There were too many holes that hadn’t been filled up. 

_One day, I hope you will tell me everything, Yuuri. And I hope you know how I feel about you._

~ ~ ~

 

Yuuri arrived later than usual the next day but the aquarium was already packed and lively with visitors lining up to get their tickets. There was a lot of commotion up front where some of the fish and shark tanks were including a crying baby. That noise was so loud that Yuuri wondered if someone had hurt the child. He moved quickly and made his way through the crowds to see what it was. Had the men gotten to someone? Had they gone through with whatever plans they had?

_I didn’t think they’d hurt children! Maybe I’m too late to help anyone!_

When he got closer, he could see Victor was trying to calm the toddler down. “It’s okay. I still have two arms! See?” He held them up and the child continued cry though not as loudly. “I’m not a ghost! I’m alive!” 

Yuuri nudged the giant starfish that was standing in the crowd. The starfish turned around and he saw that it was Yuri, dressed as the latest sea creature. “What happened in here?”

“Eh, it’s nothing. Every month, Victor gets into the shark tank and pretends that he gets his arm bitten off. And every month, there’s at least one kid who really thinks he lost his arm. That kid starts to cry and throw a tantrum so now we have to convince them that Victor is alive.” Yuri sighed. “It will all be over soon.”

“So no one is hurt?”

“Feh, no. You think the kids would understand this but the younger ones never do. You didn’t really miss anything.” 

Yuuri was relieved to hear that. Victor was very much okay and trying to calm the child down. He was glad to know that everyone was all right and nothing had been done in the aquarium itself. Those men were nowhere in sight either but this had him thinking about the worst. Victor was friendly with all the animals but what if one of them suddenly turned on him? He had seen how the stingrays were acting. They were keeping their distance from him right now but what if that changed? Now he had to watch everything closely.

“Everything’s okay, right? Nobody tried to break in or hurt the animals or anything like that, did they?”

“Nah. It’s just another boring day and I still have to entertain all the kids, now dressed as a starfish.” Yuri grumbled. He waved his arms around in the costume to show how uncomfortable it was. “I guess this is better than being the blue-footed booby. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go greet people.”

He wandered off and the crowd soon moved away leaving Victor all alone. The child had calmed down and everyone was gone so Yuuri had a chance to talk to him. “I heard about what happened. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, Yuuri. I was only pretending to get eaten by the shark.” Victor sighed. Then he lowered his voice. “I haven’t seen anything strange yet. I came in early just to see if something was out of place. Everything looks normal.” 

“I know what I heard, Victor.”

“And I believe you. I just haven’t seen anything but I will be careful.”

“Have you talked to Yakov about this?”

“No, I haven’t had a chance. As soon as I got in, he told me to get into the shark tank and entertain the guests by feeding sharks. Then this happened.” 

“Well, I should probably get to work then. I will ask the rays if they have noticed those men or anything else that seems out of place. And in the meantime, I wanted to ask you if we could_”

Yuuri was suddenly interrupted by shouting and loud noises coming from the back. There was Yuri yelling at someone and trying to flip them off but couldn’t due to his starfish arms. Other people were stunned as well and some stopped staring the fish just to see what was happening. Some were thrilled by the presence of their new visitor while others were not all that excited to see them. 

He looked at Victor who seemed annoyed all of a sudden. “I forgot all about him. I didn’t know he would come today. I was hoping it would be later but he must have changed his mind. I’m so sorry you have to deal with that.”

“Why? What is it?” Yuuri was suddenly worried. Who had come in and why did it annoy Victor? “What are you scared of?”

“I’m not scared. There’s nothing to wrry about. It’s just that this is...well, it’s…” 

Suddenly, a loud voice interrupted everything and Victor sighed while Yuri looked ready to punch someone. Someone’s baby started crying and a few children started to crowd around their parents. If he had the chance, he would have done so with their visitor. Turning around, Yuuri saw who had arrived. 

“JJ style!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me at my tumblr: [fallsintograce](http://fallsintograce.tumblr.com)
> 
> Next time is when the action really starts to roll and romance will start to bloom. *shifty eyes*


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A meeting with JJ and something awful happens...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I begin, let me show you the fanart I commissioned Crimson Chains for of Yuuri surrounded by lovable but judging sea flappers. It is amazing and the rays are hiding the good parts from Victor XD [**Check it out on tumblr!**](https://crimson-chains.tumblr.com/post/179981091786/a-commission-i-did-for-fallsintograce-3-for) Bask in the pretty creatures in the pic (and Yuuri is not so bad looking either XD )
> 
> This picture has also uploaded in Chapter 7 where this scene takes place. Enjoy the sea flappers and go give CC some love! 
> 
> Now I promise I'm going to get back to all my other fics. I've started writing the next chapters to most of them so I just need to feel better physically (I'm starting to feel under the weather right now) and get these things up before the holidays kick in.

The sudden visit from Jean-Jacques Leroy was not too surprising but no one was really prepared for it. Yuuri had been wondering how he was going to deal with him after Yuri had called JJ ‘the king of insects’. He didn’t look anything like a cockroach but the rest of the aquarium workers were looking at him like he was one. Mila forced herself to smile and welcomed him inside. 

“It’s good to see you again.” She began, doing her best to make him feel welcome. “We knew you were coming but I could have sworn it was for later.”

“No, it’s for today! We were deciding whether to change the date or not but I thought a surprise visit might be more fun! Felt like I should catch you off guard and from the looks it”, he looked around the group of neutral to annoyed looks, “I think I did. In any case, I can wait for you to get ready and then we can start.”

“That would be nice, thank you. I think Yuuri would like some time to be prepared.” She looked over at Yuuri who was nodding. He needed the extra bit of time to get ready. “It shouldn’t take long though.”

“No worries. I am ready whenever you are.” 

That was a little bit of a relief. JJ wasn’t a bad person and he was being considerate but he was also very loud and confident. It wasn’t just in the way he spoke but the way he moved around. Yuuri could see why the others were not too fond of his presence. He certainly had a way with people but it was also a personality that could rub others the wrong way. It was obvious from Victor’s face that he was not JJ’s biggest fan. Yuri was fuming and Mila was trying her hardest to stay friendly. JJ was definitely not their best friend. His visit, although they were expecting it, was not something they wanted to deal with. 

However, he didn’t seem to be mean on purpose and he didn’t mind following Yuuri around in the aquarium. When they met, JJ shook Yuuri’s hand hard and gave him a pat on the back. Yuuri winced when he felt that pat but he just smiled through it. Someone in this room had to make things a little tense. Since he knew the least about JJ and his crew, it had to be him to cool down the room.

“It’s nice to meet you. We’ve been waiting for your visit.” 

“So you’re the new guy! I’ve heard a lot about you!” He began.

“You have?” Yuuri began to feel nervous. ‘A lot’ could mean anything but only Victor knew his secret and Victor wouldn’t reveal this to anyone. He tried to laugh it off. “I hope it was all good things.” 

“Don’t worry, no one’s complained about you. They say you’re a good worker who has a way with the animals, especially the rays. They say you’re some kind of stingray whisperer.” 

Yuuri’s smile got tighter at that. “What can I say? Those stingrays love me.” 

“Anyway, you get whatever you need and then we can start when you’re ready. I’ll just catch up with the others down here.” JJ turned to Victor who had folded his arms and not looking forward to any kind of catching up. “Hey, Victor, how are the fish biting these days? Fought any sharks lately? Did you get bitten by one?”

“No.” Victor remained cool, never flinching as JJ got in his face. “The sharks are friendly.”

“Well, yeah, they may be friendly now but you were scared when you first saw one. Remember when you first encountered a lemon shark here? You thought it was going to bite you but all she wanted was a belly rub.”

“I don’t recall that.” 

_I should probably leave._ Yuuri decided, excusing himself from the room. There was tension here and he didn’t want to be part of it. The sooner he got through this day, the better he would feel. This was supposed to be easy. He’d show JJ around and JJ would tell him all about insects. As long as he stayed polite and didn’t reveal anything about his true form, he would be fine. They would get along. 

“Enjoy your time with the king of the roaches.” Yuri whispered as he was walking by. “Just smile and nod at everything he says. Pretend you care. Act like insects are superior or something.”

“Okay. I’ll do that.” Yuuri nodded. “While I’m showing him around, what will the rest of you be doing?”

“Eh, the same thing we do all the time. I have to deal with screaming kids, we talk about what lives in this aquarium, we feed the animals, and just handle the normal stuff. You’re probably not going to miss anything.”

“That’s good to know. Anyway, I’ll see the rest of you later. Tell me if anything interesting happens.”

“Sure but don’t hold your breath. It’s going to be a normal, boring day.” 

Yuuri wasn’t that upset about having to go around and talk with JJ. It would give him a chance to step away from the aquarium and try to mingle with other humans. The insect emporium was just next door so it wasn’t like he was going too far away. From what it sounded like, there wasn’t a chance where water could fall on him so his secret would stay safe. He wasn’t ready to reveal the truth to anyone else. Victor was different. Victor would be the kind of person who would keep him safe if anyone tried to hurt him. There were no ill intentions with him but that couldn’t be said about the others yet.

There was still the awful feeling that something was going to happen. He didn’t have much time to check out anything out this morning. It didn’t seem like things had been tampered with and the rays hadn’t noticed any strange things overnight. That didn’t mean much though since they weren’t able to see anything outside of the rooms they were in. Those rays were confined in their tanks so they’d never have a chance to see anything happening in another room. He did relax a bit when he saw that the other creatures were acting normal. None of them looked sick or hurt. Whatever these goons were planning, they hadn’t started it yet. 

He took JJ and the rest of crew inside the room where the rays were. “This is probably my favorite exhibit. You can probably guess why.” He put his hand in the water and petted one of the rays swimming by. Out of all of them, she was the one who was the friendliest with people. She had been named Genevieve and was also the ray that kept watch on everything. Whenever there was some trouble, she was the one who let Yuuri know. 

“Genevieve is always swimming around and she loves feeding time.” He stroked her as she came for food. “Sorry, I don’t have anything yet. It’s not time to eat. They’ll come and give you something.” He looked apologetically at his guests. “She’s hungry if you couldn’t tell.” 

“That’s nice.” JJ said, not sounding like he meant it at all. His crew was watching everything but they were barely listening. “You seem to have some new exhibits this year like that new baby manatee.”

“Yes, we do have some new inhabitants. They seem to be adjusting to everything.” Yuuri looked at the clock and saw that they had already spent an hour and half just walking around. “Well, would you like to see more now or do you want to take me to the insect emporium?”

“Insects! I’m glad you brought them up! You’re going to love it there, Yuuri! Have you ever found yourself surrounded by butterflies?”

“I...can’t say I have.” That much was true as Yuuri knew nothing of butterflies. “That might be fun.”

“It will be fun! I’ll take you up to the fourth floor where the butterlies are all flying around and you can interact with them. It’ll be great! You’ll see!”

JJ was being very enthusiastic and that could have annoyed people but Yuuri was curious about this. The only things he knew about butterflies were what Phichit told him. They were apparently beautiful with colorful wings and they floated through the air. They had patterns on their wings and were small enough to fit in the palm of anyone’s hand. Some of them were apparently as colorful as the fish in the sea.

”You can see them flying around everywhere.” Phichit had told him. “You can’t confuse them with moths though. Moths look similar but they usually aren’t as colorful.” 

“Moths and butterflies.” Yuuri repeated. “They sound a lot like the different rays we have in the ocean. Maybe I might see some of these butterflies and moths on land one day.” 

The insect emporium was just as big as the aquarium and it did have its share of excited children and strange creatures. From crawling spiders to grasshopers, beetles to ants, this place was colorful and loud. JJ might have been enthusiastic but he knew a lot about insects and everything that was around this place. He had no problem taking Yuuri from exhibit to exhibit, showing him every kind of creature they had. They were now standing in front of a glass case with tarantulas crawling over some branches. 

“This looks like an octopus.” Yuuri watched as a tarantula was resting on the floor of the case. “Well, they are more fuzzy and are on land but I see a few similarities.”

“I can see where you see that. Don’t be scared of them though. They might look terrifying but they’re like most other insects; they won’t bother you if you don’t bother them. Now come upstairs! I have to take you to see the butterflies on the top floor!” 

Butterflies. Thinking about them made Yuuri miss Phichit and wonder what he was doing now. The lack of news from him was making it hard to focus on the job at hand. As the days went on, he grew more worried. Phichit never stayed quiet for this long. If he was busy, he would send a message saying so. He wasn’t the kind to ignore anyone. His silence was worrisome and no one knew where to start looking for him. 

_Where did you go?_ Yuuri wondered as he followed JJ upstairs. _If you could give me a sign, that would be great._

JJ was talking and giving a lot of information but Yuuri was only half-hearing this. He kept smiling and nodding as he tried to take in as much as he could. The insects were interesting but they were nothing compared to the fish and creatures of the sea. Granted, he did have a slight bias but there was something about watching fish swimming through blue-green waves that was comforting. He was starting to miss the aquarium now. Hopefully, things were fine while he was gone. He had told Victor what he knew so at least someone would keep an eye on things.

“Here we are!” JJ opened the door to a big room that was filled with flowers and plants. “There are butterflies flying around so don’t be scared. They’ll be all around you so just walk through and act natural. Oh, and we also ask that you don’t touch any of the plants.”

“I can do that.” Yuuri promised as he stepped inside. The plants and flowers were bright as were the lights pouring down in this room. There were some low electrical lights in the room but most of it was from outside. The roof was made of glass, which made the entire place seem more open. Around them, various butterflies were making their way around. “They all live here?”

“Yeah, this is where we keep them. This is a way for our visitors to interact with them. They get to see them like they were in their natural environment. Now just walk around and don’t bother them. If they get too close, don’t worry. They’re curious.”

_Just like stingrays and other creatures in the ocean. They are also pretty curious._ Yuuri thought as a beautiful monarch butterfly flew past him. Those bright orange wings were a nice contrast to the leaving greens of the room. He stared at it as it rested against a small branch, wondering just what else was out in this world. It was a shame he didn’t have a lot of time to spend here. 

The more he stayed in the room, the more he depressed he felt. It wasn’t that these insects weren’t pretty or calming to watch. It made him feel bad that eventually he would have to leave Victor behind. He couldn’t pull Victor into the ocean with him because, no matter how much he loved marine life, he didn’t belong there. Even if he had a way of taking him there, there was the issue of his family and friends as well as other marine life swimming about. Most of them would not be thrilled to have a human in their midst. It was fine for humans to visit the ocean as long as they respected everything in there. They had no problems with that but the damages humans had caused to the ocean made everyone wary of them. 

_Victor’s not like those humans though. I know he has respect for the life in the ocean. He would never hurt anything._

His thought process was soon interrupted by JJ answering his phone. Yuuri had no idea what that ring tone was at first but it was strange. Someone started sing “Now...I rule the rule…” before JJ answered it. It was by far the weirdest ring tone any human had for their phone. Yuuri pretended that he was staring at a pretty yellow butterfly while his host talked. 

“Hey, JJ here! What can the king do for you?” Before he could say more, his smile faded. “I see. Yeah, he’s still with me. I’ll send him back. Hopefully, that might be of help.” JJ hung up and turned to Yuuri. “I’m afraid we have to cut this short. They need you back at the aquarium. Something apparently has happened to Victor.”

“Victor?” Yuuri felt sick to his stomach. He didn’t need to hear what it was. “I’m on my way then! Thank you for everything!”

“Whoa, Yuuri! Don’t you want to know what it is?”

“They’ll tell me over there! Thanks!” 

Yuuri made his way out of the emporium and headed next door to the aquarium where Chris was waiting for him. He motioned Yuuri to come inside and pulled him to a corner where no one could overhear them. Judging from the commotion, some of the patrons were not happy about being escorted out. From what he could hear, an exhibit had been closed down until further notice and he worried about it.

“What happened to Victor?” Was the first thing out of Yuuri’s mouth. “Is he hurt?”

“No, fortunately, we got him out of the water in time.” Chris sighed. “He’s shaken but he’ll be fine when he warms up.”

“Out of the water?”

“I guess you didn’t hear it.” Chris sighed. “Victor went to the penguin exhibit and jumped into the water while a bunch of visitors were there. This isn’t that unusual because sometimes he does go there. However, he usually doesn’t jump in the water and he certainly doesn’t do it naked.”

Yuuri blinked, trying to put this together. “Let me try to understand this. Victor went to the penguin exhibit and jumped in those cold waters naked? Not only that, people were watching? Children were watching?!”

“Yeah, you can imagine how badly that went. There weren’t too many people at that point and the low lights in that exhibit helped hide things but it’s not enough. We had to get people out of there quickly and close down everything. Some of the visitors were upset by the display but most were upset because they thought Victor was drunk when doing so. Yakov has promised that he will look into this.”

“Victor was drunk and jumped into the water?” Yuuri had a hard time believing this. “No, Victor would never drink while at work! That’s not like him!”

“I know that. Everyone who works here knows that. Up until now, Victor has never done anything like this. He knows better than to get into that water and he certainly wouldn’t do it when people were watching. I’m just glad he wasn’t hurt but he wants to see you. All he keeps doing is calling out your name. That’s why we had to bring you back.” Chris motioned him to follow. “He’s in the back room here. It doesn’t seem like he’s drunk but he’s definitely not himself.”

They braced themselves for what they were going to find. Victor was sitting in the corner, wrapped in a towel and murmuring something himself. On one end, Yakov was reprimanding him and telling him that these actions were not acceptable. He was very lucky that not very many people had been in that exhibit and that the low lights had kept much hidden. As of yet, he had no idea what to do other than to close everything for the time being. Yuuri had a bad feeling about the whole thing. This wasn't normal. This wasn't an employee just acting out and being disrespectful. This was Victor and he knew how to behave. He knew how to treat the visitors of the aquarium. The last thing he wanted was for Victor to get in trouble so maybe, just maybe, he would try to find the answers. Yakov yelling at him wasn't going to help.

“I’m disappointed in you! You know better!” Yakov finished off when he saw Yuuri and Chris enter. “Ah, there you are! Maybe you get through to him!”

“Yuuri!” Victor exclaimed, trying to get up and holding out his arms. He was covered up in towels and shivering from the cold. “I’m freezing! Warm me up!”

“What happened to you?” Yuuri wanted to know. Looking into those eyes, he could tell that Victor was not drunk. He would have smelled the alcohol if that were the case. “Why would you do something like that?”

“I’ve been trying to get that answer from him for a while now.” Yakov sighed. “He keeps calling your name instead and complaining that he’s cold. He doesn’t know what he did or he claims he doesn’t know.”

“Let me see then.” Yuuri slowly approached Victor though he didn’t touch him. Something was very off about this. Something didn’t make sense and he needed to know what went down. The more he spoke, the more he felt that there was more to the story. “Victor, why would you do something like that?”

“I didn’t.” Victor murmured. “I don’t know why anyone’s saying that.”

“People saw you. I know you wouldn’t do this for any reason but...why?” Yuuri tried to see what had gone wrong. Victor might not have been drunk but something else had happened. “You know better than to do this.”

“It wasn’t me. I didn’t do anything.”

“Victor, please...try to remember something. Try to remember what really happened.” Yuuri knew this would be hard but maybe there was something more to this. “Did anyone say or anything that sounded strange to you? Did you feel anything? Try to think back.”

“I...I…” Victor closed his eyes. “I can’t remember anything. I never meant to go in there. I normally don’t. I just know that_”

**CRASH!**

He never did get a chance to finish that sentence because something had fallen over outside. Then there was a scream and Yuuri knew that something awful had happened. Their enemy, whoever they were, had made their first move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun! What happened? Who happened? What is going on? Will the sting rays be safe? (Yes, no harm will come to them, I promise) Stay tuned! 
> 
> Come yell at me at my tumblr: [fallsintograce](http://fallsintograce.tumblr.com) . If nothing else, you'll enjoy my endless posts of YOI, Pokemon, and other random things.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to speed up, dangers are around the corner, and Yuuri makes a painful decision...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for being so behind on everything. I have started the next chapters of a lot of fics but have not gotten to finishing them. Personal issues and emotional stuff has been bogging me down. I promise I'm going to try to finish some of these fics by next year (I tried to do so this year but failed). Anyway, enjoy and if I don't update later this month, I'll see you all next year! May the next year be filled with manatees, sea flaps, and all kinds of sea creatures in bodies of water.

The scream had come from another end of the aquarium so Yuuri had to run fast to see what it was. He had to leave Victor behind and see what else had gone wrong. There was a crowd that was forming and lots of children crying but he did notice what was on the ground. Mila was lying on the ground with several people surrounded her. She had been knocked unconscious and now a doctor was checking her out. Yakov motioned the crowd to move back so they could give some space. Yuuri began to suspect the worst as Mila groaned and came around. There was no way she would fall over like this. Mila was very healthy and had never had problems before. Something was up. 

“She’s awake!” Someone yelled. “Give her some air! Stand back!”

“Ladies and gentlemen, please step back!” Yakov motioned everyone to move to the side. He knelt down by Mila as she sat up and rubbed her forehead. Besides looking a little dazed, she seemed normal and hurt. She kept asking everyone where she was and why she felt a lot of pain. The doctor finished looking over her and got ready to stand up. “Is she going to be all right?”

“She’ll be fine.” The doctor said. “There’s a lump on her head and it might make her a little disoriented but it’s nothing serious. She’ll be back to work and doing everything in no time.”

"Huh?" Mila blinked a few times. "I don't know how I got here. One minute, I'm getting ready to feed the manatee. And now I'm here. I don't even remember hearing anyone come from behind me."

 _They struck again._ Yuuri realized. _They struck when no one was around. Is this a warning of things to come?_

"Are you sure you will be fine?" Yakov asked her. "If there is too much pain, maybe we can_"

"I'll be fine. I promise. I'm a lot stronger than I look. I should be able to get back to work in an hour or so."

It was relief to hear but Yakov didn’t want anyone else to see what was going on. Even if Mila was feeling well enough to work, he didn't want her to go around while still feeling dazed and confused. Between her and Victor being out of commission, he had to make a difficult decision. He had to make the announcement that the aquarium was closing for the day. He promised to refund all the tickets and let them know when the aquarium would reopen. There were some grumbles and complaints in the crowd but everyone obliged. They could see that this was not the best day to come here. They didn't want to stay in a place where strange things were happening. 

Yuuri turned to Chris for some answers. Out of everyone, he would probably know how common all of this was. “Do you know why Victor started acting like this? He seems so out of it.”

“This isn’t normal behavior.” Chris admitted. “Everyone thinks someone drugged his drink and that’s why he acted like this. I don’t know why anyone would do that.”

 _I do._ Yuuri wanted to reply but couldn’t say a thing. Instead he turned his focus to Mila. “What happened to her?”

“I wish I knew. From what I’ve heard, it seems like someone knocked her out from behind. No one knows who did it but we’re just glad that she’s all right. They think Victor will be fine as well once the drugs wear off. I just don’t know what’s going to happen to this place though. There’s no way we can let anyone else in. This happened to some employees. What if this happened to a visitor?” 

Chris turned out to be right. People weren’t sent away with the promise that they would get their money back and the aquarium wouldn’t stay closed for long. However, the employees were not allowed to go home yet. A couple of them wanted to leave as the building would be empty but they were stopped as they were leaving.

“There is work left to do! We may be closed to the public but you are not free to leave.” Yakov reminded them. “We have to keep this place clean and make sure the animals are fed. That means everyone is going to work until it is time for you to leave. Now go! I’ll let you know how the other two are doing later. For now, neither of them will do anything but rest.” 

While doctors were looking after Mila and Victor, Yuuri was taken over to where the rays were since it was feeding time. Yakov was right. Just because the aquarium was closed to the public didn’t mean they were free to go home. At the very least, they had to feed all the animals there. Yuri had changed out of his costume and decided to help with feeding the animals. It wasn’t a great job but it was better than dressing up as a mascot. 

“Come on, piggy. We’ve got a lot of fish to feed.” He said as they got into the room with the rays. In a way, Yuuri was glad they were starting here. His friends would have seen something and they would tell him what happened. Sure enough, as they got closer, the rays began to swim up to them for some food. “Jeez, they get excited when you’re around! What the hell did you do to them anyway? They seem really close to you.”

“No, I think they’re just excited because we’re going to feed them. Rays can get this way when they are hungry. It’s past lunch time for them anyway. They’re probably relieved it’s just us and no other visitors.”

“Probably.” Yuri stood over the pool and started to feed the rays. The more food he gave, the more excited they got and started to splash him with water. “Ugh! Stop it, you flapping fish! I’ve got enough for everyone! Wait your turn!” 

“They’re just eager to get food. They won’t hurt you. They are far more docile than they may appear at first.” Yuuri went over to one of them and stroked it. “They do seem a bit agitated though.”

“Can you blame them? So much shit happened today. I’m surprised no one came to hurt any of the animals.” Yuri sighed. “Given what went down, I’ll be surprised if we get anyone coming back here. At the very least, I don’t think they’re going to trust Victor to do the right thing for a while. It’s bad because he really loves what he does and both, people and the animals, like him too. All but the sting rays. For some reason, they don’t like him anymore. ” 

“What’s going to happen to him?” Yuuri was worried. He knew how much this meant to humans and how they didn’t tolerate bad behavior on the job. As for the rays, he knew why they were suddenly acting strange. They were trying to protect him now. “They’re not going to throw him out, are they? He didn’t mean to do anything! They drugged him!”

“If he was anyone else, they would get rid of him. Fortunately for him, he’s Victor and he’s irreplaceable to Yakov. In fact, he’s irreplaceable to the whole aquarium.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Yuri smirked at the question. “Ah, I guess he didn’t tell you everything about himself, huh? He’s not exactly your typical aquarium worker. For starters, he’s actually Dr. Victor Nikiforov.”

“Dr. Nikiforov?”

“Yeah, he actually studies the animals and tries to find ways to help make them feel comfortable. He’s also studying the ocean and trying to keep that safe for everyone. His work in the aquarium is important here. He doesn’t just entertain visitors for the heck of it. Without Victor, this place wouldn’t thrive like it does.” Yuri murmured. “That’s why Yakov is really upset about this. He knows Victor is smarter than this and he doesn’t want to lose him. At most, he may just let him take a few days off. Before you know it, he'll be back to work and everything will go back to normal.” 

“Is that what the rest of you do too?”

“We help once in a while but the research is all Victor’s. He’s been so busy with saving the ocean that he’s never had time for others. You must be very special. He never got close to anyone until you came along. You must have done something to change him. I've never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you.”

Yuuri didn’t feel all that special at the moment. Maybe he did change Victor but he couldn’t protect him. He didn’t know what he needed to protect him from. He looked down at the rays swimming around and coming up to be fed. He was careful not to let them splash around too much for a little bit of water on his legs would reveal his secret. Yuri couldn’t know about this. Victor knowing the truth was already enough. 

_Did you see anything? People have gotten hurt over here._ He telepathically asked the rays. If anyone saw anything, they would have. _Who hurt Victor? Where did they go now?_

 _ **They are no longer here.**_ One of rays replied. _**You won’t be able to find your answers on land. You have to get to the sea. You have to go home.**_

_Why? What’s in the sea?_

_**To learn that, you have to see your former teacher. She may have the answers you are seeking. Ask her what is happening and you will know what to do.** _

_Why can’t you tell me what’s happening?_

_**We are not much use down here. We cannot see who is truly doing this because they move so quickly. Being trapped behind these glass walls has limited us. All we know is that you can find your answers out in the sea. You may also get the help you need for what’s to come.** _

_What is coming then?_

_**A horror unlike any seen on land or sea. You must return to learn all the secrets on how to stop it. Keep both sides safe. You may also find something to help you find your friend.** _

Phichit. Suddenly, Yuuri realized that things were not as simple as he thought. If the rays were right and being honest, he needed to know what this horror was. They were right. He was not going to find all the answers out in the land. Most of the clues were in the ocean and he needed to piece it all together. 

_Wait for me over here then._ He told the rays. _I will go back to the sea tonight and stop this before it reaches the shore._

_**Be careful, Yuuri. Do not cross anyone you don’t know. Above all else, tell no other human what you are.** _

It was an odd warning but he knew what he had to do. It had been a long time since he had gone into the ocean. They had told him to go see his former teacher, which meant he had to see Minako. It made sense since she would probably be the first one to tell him the truth. He had to leave now before people found out what he was up to. He bid one more farewell to the rays before starting to head out the door.

“Hey! Where the hell are you going?! We’re not done here!” Yuri snapped. 

Yuuri didn’t bother turning around. “I can’t stay, Yurio. I have to go back to the sea. I need to go there.”

“Huh? What the hell are you talking about? You can’t leave me to do all of this alone! Dammit, get back here!” 

“I’m sorry, Yurio. I have to go.” 

He turned away and walked off before Yuri could follow him. He had to get away from this aquarium before someone stopped him. He couldn’t bring more people into his world now and he couldn’t tell them why he was leaving. It would probably get him into trouble but there were bigger things to worry about. This was just the start of something. They were only going to get worse until he did something to stop it.

_Forgive me, Victor. I’m only leaving to save you. And I have to go now._

~ ~ ~

Night had fallen when Yuuri found himself staring over the cliff and looking at the sea. It had been a long time since he had seen it. He passed by it many times but never got the chance to go into the water until now. For the first time in ages, he was heading back home. He was going back to a world that he understood and was familiar with. It was hard to go without telling anyone a thing but it had to be done. No one could stop him. He knew they would try to convince him to step back from the ledge or try to help. This was nothing they could do.

The rays had told him that his best bet would be to go back to the see and find some merfolk who could give him answers. He would have to leave tonight and he couldn’t tell anyone where he was going. The worst part was that he didn’t know if he was ever coming back. He couldn’t promise anyone a thing so it was better to go soon and try to forget the human world. He would have to forget about the friends he had made up here. He had to forget about Victor and all they had done over these past few days. 

Victor. The more he thought about him, the harder it became to take that plunge into the ocean. He had been warned many times not to get too attached to the humans. He could never bring Victor down to the ocean to meet his family or live with him up on the land. They were from different worlds and they would never be able to survive together. It was better to let him go now before they got closer. As much as it hurt, he had to pretend that things would be fine. The ocean was his home and he could see the waves crashing against the rocks. They were calling to him and they wanted him to come back.

“Yuuri!”

He turned around to find Victor running up to him. Judging from his appearance, the drug had worn off and he looked better. All the color had come back into his face and he was able to run just fine. He would be okay for now but who knew what could happen later. A part of him wanted to dive down now so he could spare them both the pain of a goodbye. He could jump in right now yet he felt locked in place. It was hard to move as Victor closer to him. There was a strange pull between them and Yuuri was struggling to pull away from it. Why did Victor have to be so attractive, intelligent, and kind? It was going to make all of this hard to forget.

“Are you feeling better?” Was the first thing out of his mouth. “I thought you’d be at home resting. I didn’t expect you to be up and about now.”

“I’m fine.” Victor promised. “Yakov is angry at me and put me on leave so I could get a little better. I feel horrible about what happened but I’m going to be all right. I just had to come and see how you were doing.”

“Nothing’s wrong. How did you know where’d I’d be?” 

“Yurio said you might be close to the ocean so I came over as fast as I could. What are you doing out here anyway?” He wanted to know. “Everyone is looking for you. They’re trying to contact you and got nothing. They keep asking me why you just walked out and didn’t answer any calls.”

“I don’t want them to know.” Yuuri murmured. “I was hoping you didn’t find me either.”

“Why? If it’s about what happened_”

“No, that’s not your fault. I came out here to get answers. I can’t find any on land so I thought I might try my luck in the sea. I’ve been told to go there and search the waters for the answer.”

“Let me help you then.” Victor suggested. “We can cover more ground if I’m helping you search the ocean. It will be better if there are two of us working together. I have a few days off now so I might as well do something with them. Helping you would_”

“No.” Yuuri shook his head. “Where I’m going is a place that you can’t go. You’re a human. You’d never be able to survive down there. And even if you did survive, the merfolk would never accept you. My family and friends might but others won’t. They’d tear you from the limb to limb if they learned how close you got to me. I’ve seen it happen before to other humans and I can’t let that happen to you.” 

Victor didn’t like the sound where any of this was going. “How long will you be gone?”

“I don’t know. Give me at least three days to see what’s going on. If things are fine and I get my answers, I’ll return. Until then, keep this to yourself. Don’t try to follow me. It’s better for you to stay on land and far from the ocean.”

“What if you don’t come back after three days?”

“Then you tell everyone the truth; that you don’t know what happened. You don’t know where I am.” Yuuri knew he had to get back into the ocean soon or else he’d never be able to leave. He had to finish this now. “I’m doing this to keep everyone safe. Let me handle everything that goes on in the sea. I can cover more ground alone because I can go further than you can. You don’t need to worry about me.”

 _I can’t let you do that, Yuuri. I have to help. I don't know what's going on but I'm going to find out._ Victor wanted to say but he kept his mouth shut. Yuuri’s mind had been made up and he kept looking back towards the dark waters of the ocean. He would let him go but that didn’t mean he was going to keep him out of his mind. Deep down, he was planning to help and he would do it in his way. 

“Are you sure about this?” He asked out loud, grabbing Yuuri’s hand and holding it tight. He wanted to do what he could to get some answers and Yuuri on land. “You don’t have to do this alone. You can’t run away like this without saying goodbye.”

Yuuri didn’t want to go but he couldn’t cling on. “Please forgive me, Victor.This was never supposed to happen. You never supposed to get this close and find out anything about me. I let things get out of hand.”

“No, you didn’t! I’m the one who found out! I’m the one who saw everything! I swear I will never tell anyone the truth! You have to come back…”

“I’m sorry, Victor. This has gone far enough. Don’t make it harder than it is. I never should have told you anything and I shouldn’t have tried to bring you into my world. That’s why I need to stop this now before it goes farther.” Yuuri closed his eyes and pulled away from Victor’s grasp. “I have to go. If I do come back and after everything has been figured out and fixed…let’s end this.” 

Not bothering to look back and see Victor’s face, Yuuri started to run to the edge. He didn’t want to turn back because he knew how Victor felt. He could sense that worry right now. With the ocean in front of him, he dove off the cliff and headed straight for the waters. The sea was his home. The sea was where he needed to be right now. 

“Yuuri!” Victor called out. “Yuuri, wait! Don’t leave me! Please!”

He ran to the edge to see Yuuri swim away and try to convince him to come back. He saw something splash in the water and then nothing more. The waves kept crashing on the rocks and there was no point in trying to go after him now. He couldn’t call out to him because he didn’t know where he was. He couldn’t jump after him and try to get him to return. The waters were too dark and deep. There was no telling where anything was and chasing after anyone was not an option. He dropped to his knees and tried to put together what he had heard. He didn’t understand much but there was one thing he was certain about. 

Yuuri was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I ended this on an angsty note but I promise there is a happy ending! We still have at least 10 chapters to go, give or take two. In fact, things are just beginning here. You know I can't end things like this now when there's so much left to tell. 
> 
> Follow me on tumblr (which only has sfw stuff on it now): [fallsintograce](http://fallsintograce.tumblr.com). I also have pillowfort for those of you who have moved over there. My name there is fallsintonothing and I'm going to start using that more often now. 
> 
> Next up, we see Yuuri go back home and reconnect with some familiar faces. Will he find answers? (*shifty eyes*) Will the dangers be stopped? (Obviously) Will the sea flappers stop being cute? (No) Will they let Victor get close to Yuuri? (Eventually) Will Victor stay put like Yuuri wants and not go after him? (Lol, not a chance)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two sides digging for answers...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what?! It's time for an update! I know I have other stories that need one more but I couldn't keep this one out of my mind. I am about at the halfway mark on this now and things are rolling. I'm not sure exactly how long this will be but I'm anticipating 22-24 chapters. Anyway, this is a bit of a look into both sides as they dig for answers. Nothing huge but just a glimpse of stuff!

Yuuri’s disappearance was the main thing on everyone’s mind the next day. News of it had spread everywhere and even people outside of the aquarium knew about it. They knew that the stingray guy had left suddenly. A lot of children were unhappy with this and even more unhappy to know that he hadn’t said goodbye to anyone. He didn’t show up for his shift and he hadn’t left a note to say where he had gone. Yakov had tried to get a hold of him but to no avail. It was as though he had walked out on them and he had done it at a time when things were the busiest. With all that had happened as of recent, Yakov had no choice but close down the aquarium for the day. A lot of people were upset by it though they did understand what was going on. They were promised free visits the next time that they came as well as other perks. 

While the aquarium was very empty, it didn’t mean anyone had the day off. The animals still needed to be taken care of and the place needed to be cleaned. He didn’t want to hear any excuses about getting out of work. 

“We may not have visitors but that doesn’t mean you get to slack off.” He reminded them. “I want this to be a place where everyone can feel safe and enjoy themselves. All of that depends on all of you. Now get to work!” 

“At least I don’t have to dress up today.” Yuri grumbled as they went in their separate directions. “I’ll take feeding penguins over looking like one any day. I wonder where he went though. Why would he walk out like that and not tell anyone?”

“I don’t know. Yuuri seems very responsible so doing this is strange.” Mila said. “I wonder what happened for him to leave. Did we do something?”

“Like what? He’s dealt with all of us so far. What would we do for him to go away? I know I didn’t say anything to him that he hasn’t heard before. If anyone offended him, it wasn’t me and it’s not a good reason to quit on us. I doubt Yakov will let him come back without good reasons.”

Victor was listening on everything but kept quiet as they went about their business. It was hard to keep secrets from friends and colleagues since he knew them better than he knew Yuuri. However, Yuuri had sworn him to secrecy and he was more curious on whether he would come back. Yakov kept looking in Victor’s direction as if he expected that he knew something. The only thing that people were certain about was that Yuuri was alive. There were no reports about foul play and Yuuri hadn’t made any enemies. There was no sign of a struggle at the aquarium or anywhere else that he would be. It was more like he walked up and decided to walk away.

 _But that’s not the truth. He told me he’d come back in three days._ Victor reminded himself. _He wants to look for answers the oceans but I don’t even know what he is looking for. I just don’t understand anything at the moment._

“Oi, Victor! I need help feeding those stingrays!” Yuri pulled his attention back. “Since that moron decided to walk out, now we have to do his job. I’m not looking forward to this.”

“Why? The stingrays are harmless.” Victor pointed out as they went inside the room. He could see that all of them looked rather and not as active like before. They knew that Yuuri wasn’t around and they couldn’t provide any information on where he had gone. “They aren’t splashing around.”

“I guess that’s a good thing. Normally they come rushing over to us for food.” Yuri stood over the pool and looked at all the rays. They were swimming close by but none of them seemed interested in eating. “All right, stingrays! It’s time for food!”

They swam up to get their meal but something was different. They didn’t stay long enough to get petted and they weren’t so excited. Victor reached down and touched Genevieve’s slippery, smooth back. Out of all of them, she seemed to have gotten the closest to Yuuri. Now that he wasn’t there, she wasn’t moving like before. “This isn’t normal behavior for any of them.”

“No shit. I always get wet whenever these guys splash but they aren’t doing much. I guess they miss him a lot. Why would he leave anyway? He knows that everyone is needed and this is our busiest time. Yakov told him that over and over again.”

“He probably has his reasons, Yurio. He just couldn’t tell anyone.” Victor replied. It had slipped out but he didn’t want anyone to be angry at Yuuri for this. “I think he had to go back home.”

“Huh?” Yuri blinked. “Why would he go back home? Where the hell is home?” 

“I don’t know but I don’t think Yuuri would leave because he’s mad at anyone. That’s not like him. It had to be something important.” Victor watched as the rays swam around. It felt different without Yuuri swimming with them. Yuuri looked so beautiful and unique with the bottom half of his body being like a stingray’s body. Up until now, mermaids were always depicted with fish tails. So the fact that mer-ray like Yuuri existed meant there was a lot of the ocean that hadn’t been explored or seen. 

“I think they’re satisfied for now.” Yuri decided. “Come on. We’ve got to go to the Sea Lion lot for our a new delivery and help them out.”

It was strange that they were still getting deliveries without people around to see what it was. The aquarium had five parking lots because it was so big and each one was named after a different animal: shark, turtle, penguin, stingray, and sea lion. Most of the deliveries came to the latter one and they were usually parked in the back of the building. Sometimes it was something small like new things for their store and sometimes it was a new member of the little aquarium family. Yakov would have told them if they were having a new arrival well in advance so this delivery had to be small. 

As they were heading out to the back of the building, Victor wondered if he could tell someone else about Yuuri. He knew that the others would have a hard time believing him but it was hard to keep this secret to himself. How long could Yuuri hide from the others? What if someone found out and they had more sinister plans? The world would want to see a real life merman and a mer-ray would certainly appeal to it. Then there would be the people who want to observe Yuuri for scientific reasons. They would definitely do whatever they could to get what they wanted. No, he had to keep quiet for now. As much as he trusted his friends, he wasn’t ready to tell them everything. 

They made their way outside where the delivery man was waiting. He looked relieved to see them. “Oh good, it’s you two! I don’t have much for you but I’m glad to see you.”

“Why?” Yuri wanted to know. “What’s so great about seeing us?”

“My last guy wasn’t quite as friendly. He just shoved things back at me and told me to get out of his site. I swear I’m never going down there again. I’ll let someone else handle it.” He handed the packages to them, one by one. “You’re lucky. There’s not a whole lot for you to deal with and no new exhibits. Then again, I can see that it’s empty.”

“Yeah, we have no visitors today for a lot of reasons. We’ve had to close down.” Yuri explained. 

“You’re not the only ones apparently.”

Victor perked up at that. “We’re not?”

“No, a lot of places have been closing down as of late due to something happening. They release to the public that they are having some plumbing or electrical issues but I think it’s a lot bigger than that. People aren’t talking about it though. I think something’s up. People seem to be on edge now.”

That was something he had not expected to hear. He had thought people were on edge mostly because they were upset they couldn’t go to the aquarium. Given that other places were closed, he could see why they were unhappy. “What else has closed down?”

“So far, the art museum, life sciences museum, and a few cafes have closed due to problems in their buildings. They said they’ll open when they are ready. I just don’t know when that will be. I hope your problems get fixed soon. People are itching to go somewhere but can’t when a place closes down.” 

Victor looked over at Yuri but said nothing. This was a lot stranger than he had expected. One place closing down was normal but a lot of them for the same reason didn’t make sense. He had a feeling that Yuuri knew about this and that was why he had really gone back to the sea. However, how could he find answers about this in the ocean? What would he discover there and how could that help things on land? He would have to come back and Victor would have to be on his guard. He was already in trouble for what had happened earlier and he didn’t need anything else after.

 _Come back, Yuuri._ He thought, wondering where Yuuri was now. _If you know something, you have to tell me soon. I need to know what we’re dealing with._

Then he remembered Yuuri’s last words about ending things. It cut into him but he hoped that was only because Yuuri was just trying to get in the water. He didn’t really feel that way. He didn’t want to waste time so he said that and jumped in. He wasn’t going to hurt Victor’s feelings and he would be back. 

He couldn’t run away without saying goodbye. It just wasn’t like him. 

~ ~ ~

Yuuri had made it back to his home in less than a day even though he was far from the shore. It was strange to be back in the cool waters of the ocean again. He had forgotten what it was like to see fish swimming freely and not inside of a glass tank. He was happy to see stingrays swimming about and gliding through the waves. He had missed them along with all the other creatures in the sea.

On the outside, the waters looked so clear and beautiful but as he moved through them, he noticed how murky they were and how much debris was floating in it. This was nothing new but it was still terrible to see. There were trash cans and bins on land so he didn’t understand why anyone would throw plastic bags in here. He wanted to believe most humans were like Victor and would try to help the ocean. Just very thought of Victor was making him miss the land so he had to push that thought aside. He promised himself that he would end things with Victor for both of them. He had to keep Victor safe and on land and with other humans. They would not last together. 

The one good thing about being home was seeing friends and family. He had planned to make a few stops in hopes of gathering information. The first one he saw was his old teacher, Minako. She had a long fish fin like any mermaid but she moved like one of those dancers on land. The difference was that her moves were far more graceful than any human with feet. She had taught Yuuri how to swim and dance with ease and would spend hours just trying to make sure he was comfortable with movement. In a way, she was like a second mother to him. When she saw him, she was delighted and greeted him by letting him in her home. It was a large area where she had plenty of room for dancing. Normally she had students in her home but not today, which was good. Yuuri needed to talk to her alone.

“I am so happy to see you! I didn’t think you’d come back so soon.” She began. “Is everything over?”

“Actually, I’m not done with anything on the land. I came to the sea to get some answers.” Yuuri said. “I was wondering if anyone had heard from Phichit yet.”

“I’m afraid not. I keep looking around for news but to no avail.” She sighed. “The only thing that I can guarantee is that he’s very much alive. There is no sign that he met up with anything awful. Now humans on the other hand…” She shook her head. “I don’t know how you can spend days with them. They’ve started polluting the waters even worse than before. It’s bad enough they are hurting the land they live on. Now they’re doing it to the sea.”

“Not all humans are awful!” Yuuri insisted, his mind going back to Victor and everyone else in the aquarium. “There are some who really care about the ocean and are doing what they can to save it.”

“It’s not enough. I hate to see how much all these creatures are struggling with how careless humans are with their trash. Anyway, I have been watching this for a while. Humans keep throwing things and they end up in the water. Are they even aware of what they are doing?”

“They are.” Yuuri assured her. “A few of them are. I know it’s not enough but at least they are aware and they are trying. That has to count for something.”

She looked at him. “You seem to have gotten close to these humans. What have they done to you? Are they really that nice?”

“The ones that I’ve met are nice. I have a lot of coworkers who invite me to places and don’t bother me.” He admitted. “I didn’t tell them anything about myself though. I’m still doing my best to stay undercover.”

That was a giant lie but Yuuri wasn’t about to reveal his feelings for Victor yet. He hadn’t told Victor how he felt for fear of them getting too close. For years, he had been told that he should never get too close to humans. Humans were not as kind as they appeared. They were not designed to live in the ocean so falling in love with one was out of the question. He had kept that in mind up until the moment he met Victor. Now he was conflicted. He didn’t want to leave him but he couldn’t afford to know a lot about him. Victor knew too much now.

“Are you sure about that?” Minako noticed his hesitation. “You go away for a short time and suddenly you seem to like people. I have to know everything. Who is he?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Yuuri, I know you and you’re not the best liar. I can see it in your face that you are happy to be home but you want to go back.”

“Well, yes, I have to go back. My work isn’t done.”

“That’s not the reason.” She shook her head. “You are talking like you have new life in you. I think this human, whoever he is, has done something good to you. What is he like?”

Yuuri bit his bottom lip. He couldn’t hold it in anymore and Minako knew it. “Well, he’s handsome. His hair reminds me of the moon when it reflects on the water. He even has eyes the color of the ocean! And he is very kind to the animals. He loves his job and he is very good at it. All the stingrays in that aquarium have told me that out of everyone there, he is the one they like the most. He always makes sure to feed them on time and look out for them. It’s not just the rays but all animals. And he’s good to other humans too, no matter who they are!” 

“Hmm, he sounds perfect.” Minako smirked. She knew it was only a matter of time before Yuuri cracked and revealed everything. “I’m happy you have found a friend there. As long as he doesn’t find out the truth about you, you should be fine. There are some things that humans should not know about.”

“I know. There are other things that I’m worried about. The aquarium I’m working at has been targeted by some strange men who are planning something terrible. I don’t know what but apparently my boss has something to do with it. They will hurt other people in the aquarium and do much worse if Yakov doesn’t do as they ask.”

“Oh, dear. That’s not what I expected.” Minako shuddered. “I thought you were going to bring me some better news because what I have to tell you isn’t good either. In fact, I think you need prepare for a storm coming onto the land. Things down in the ocean have gotten worse ever since we found that some humans wrote things on coral and rocks down here.”

“What?! Who’d do that?!” 

“Careless, reckless people who don’t know how important coral is.” Minako’s gaze darkened. She already wasn’t found of most humans but this was taking it to the extreme. She knew how important coral was and how it was already suffering because what humans were doing to the planet. “It may seem small but I’m afraid it’s about to set off something big. It’s not just this coral but all over the oceans. No one feels safe and won’t feel that way until something is done. They are angry at people. They no longer want to tolerate this. Everyone is angry and want revenge on the land.” 

Now Yuuri was worried and he knew that look on his teacher’s face. She didn’t get that look unless she was truly scared. “What are they planning then?”

Minako closed her eyes, hating that she had to give him this answer. 

“War.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Now this is starting to sound like Aquaman but I promise it's not XD~~
> 
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> Come yell at me on tumblr: fallsintograce or pillowfort: fallsintonothing. I'd love to chat with you. 
> 
> Keep the oceans clean, y'all!

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me at tumblr: [fallsintograce](http://fallsintograce.tumblr.com) and yell at me.


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